“I declined Liverpool in favour of Manchester City; Pep Guardiola pursued me as his successor to Lionel Messi.”

“I declined Liverpool in favour of Manchester City; Pep Guardiola pursued me as his successor to Lionel Messi.

“Pep Guardiola requested that Leroy Sane emulate Lionel Messi’s style of play after the German rejected Liverpool in favour of Manchester City.

After his exceptional exploits for Schalke as a teenager, Sane, 28, garnered the attention of Europe’s most prestigious clubs.

In 2016, he was one of Guardiola’s initial recruits, having secured a transfer to City for a fee of £37 million.

The winger, who is currently at Bayern Munich, emerged as one of the most threatening forwards in the Premier League, contributing to City’s inaugural title in 2017/18 as a member of the “Centurions.” But the

German international disclosed in 2018 that he was also offered the opportunity to participate in another thrilling endeavour, Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool.

However, he declined the Reds in favour of the sky blue. Sane responded to the Guardian, “Yes, I was also discussing it with them,” when asked whether his compatriot Klopp was interested in bringing him to Anfield.

Jurgen was also contacting me and conversing with me. That occurred prior to my affiliation with City.

“I encountered him during his tenure at [Borussia] Dortmund; he performed admirably.” He is a kind and honest individual.

He has collaborated effectively with Liverpool. Klopp’s departure was Guardiola’s gain, as Liverpool subsequently emerged as City’s fiercest competitor, establishing one of the most enduring rivalries of the Premier League era.

At City, the youthful Sane initially encountered difficulty in living up to his high price tag. However, he soon recovered and began to frustrate defences with his precise dribbling and devastating pace.

He remembered a particular conversation with Guardiola, during which the brilliant tactician encouraged him to emulate Messi, one of his former Barcelona players and arguably the greatest player ever.

However, the manager was alluding to Messi’s capacity to influence the game by both creating opportunities and executing them. He has made an additional 187 appearances for Bayern, and has won a variety of trophies, including three Bundesliga trophies.

However, it is accurate to assert that Sane has not quite achieved the same level of explosiveness since departing Guardiola. This season, he has been predominantly utilised as a substitute by Vincent Kompany, his former City teammate.

However, this has not prevented the winger from being linked to Liverpool and City once more, as the forward’s contract is set to expire next summer. Manchester United has also been attributed with an interest in him.