In August 2016, Leroy Sane joined Premier League club Manchester City, signing a five-year contract for a reported 37 million pounds from the German club Schalke 04. He made his debut in a 1–2 win, in the Manchester derby against Manchester United, on 10 September. His first goal for City came in a 2–1 win against Arsenal at home in the Premier League on 18 December.
While he was with Manchester City, Sane used to have many injuries. He was sidelined for almost one month in his first season. After the first season, in June 2017, Sane said he believed his debut season at City had been limited by his inability to breathe through his nose. He said he particularly suffered during matches, with his constantly blocked nose hampering his performance and causing him intense frustration. He opted to have corrective surgery during the off-season break.
After that surgery, he was able to find his fine form in the next season onwards. In the 2017-18 season, Guardiola’s dominant City team stormed to the Premier League title, picking up a record 100 points thanks to the brilliance of the winger.
Sane scored ten goals in 32 EPL appearances, winning the illustrious PFA Young Player of the Year award ahead of Harry Kane and Raheem Sterling, becoming the first and only German player to win the award.
In the 2019-20 season, his name was connected with the transfer rumours of Bayern Munich. They were trying to find a replacement for Frank Ribery. He had an ACL injury that season, and after that, Pep confirmed that the German would not renew his contract.
On 3 July 2020, Bayern Munich agreed to sign a five-year deal with Sane for an initial 45 million euros, with add-ons rising to a potential 60 million euros.
His story of struggles begins after moving to back to Germany. In the first season with the Bavarians, he was destitute, and he could not find the lethal form he had in England. He only scored ten goals in the first season in 44 appearances. In this season, he started poorly, and Bayern Munich fans booed him at the Allianz Arena during the first half of the 3-2 win over FC Koln back at the end of August.
But he has come a long way after the booing he received. Julian Nagelsmann has shown continued faith in the winger and has done a great deal to continuously encourage him, along with the rest of his teammates, and it has shown with Sane’s performances on the pitch.
From 29 appearances across all competitions this season, Sane has tallied 12 goals and 13 assists. He also bagged four goals and an assist for the German national team in World Cup qualifiers across the last three international breaks.
This is the perfect example of resurgence. Manager Julian Nagelsmann believes the player has a future at the Allianz Arena and wants to get the best out of him by adapting his role.