Leroy Sané has admitted he found it hard to turn down Manchester City’s efforts to keep him at the club and move to Bayern Munich.
Sané completed a €45m move to Bayern at the beginning of this month after more than a year of speculation about a move.
His departure from the Etihad was largely a result of his contract situation, with his deal at Manchester City expiring next year and the club keen to ensure they did not lose him on a free transfer next summer.
Not that City didn’t try to convince the winger to extend for several months, with the club offering him improved terms on several occasions to try and keep him.
That obviously never happened, although he admits choosing to ignore Pep Guardiola and co was a difficult choice.
“It wasn’t easy for me. Pep Guardiola and this fantastic team were the reason why I moved to Manchester.
“But now it was in my head that I wanted to do something new.
“The concept and the plans of FC Bayern were the best match for my ideas. That’s why I came to my decision.
“Everything really took longer. That’s why I can also understand if it became nervous for the fans maybe even some time. All the happier I am now that it finally worked out.”
A move to Bavaria was long in the offing for Sané, who had been extremely close to joining the club last summer.
Months of speculation had indicated that City and Bayern were edging closer to a mega-deal for the forward and by the beginning of August, a move looked likely.
That, though, was then scuppered when Sané suffered an anterior cruciate ligament injury in his right knee in the Community Shield win over Liverpool at the beginning of the month.
That was a bitter blow for the German, but he insists at the time, his only focus was on the extent of his injury.
“It wasn’t that far back then (a transfer),” he added.
“Honestly: I was more worried about my knee than the change at that moment.
“I had never had any problems with my knee before, so it was a shock, and the injury was very long.”
