Pep Guardiola told me to play like Lionel Messi or Neymar'
The first thing that strikes you about Leroy Sane as he walks into a side-room at Manchester City’s training base, moments after being interviewed elsewhere for television, is just how tall he is. “That’s also what they said in there,” City’s Germany winger says, smiling. “It’s not just the hair.”
If it is the afro that makes Sane instantly recognisable, it is his skills that single him out as one of the most exciting young talents in European football, one third of an attacking trident with Raheem Sterling and the fit again Gabriel Jesus that Pep Guardiola paints glowingly as City’s bright future. And as Arsene Wenger tries to navigate a path through the storm engulfing the Arsenal manager, finding a way to stop Sane will be central to his thoughts in Sunday afternoon’s FA Cup semi-final at Wembley.
That is easier said than done, of course. After a slow start in England following his £37 million summer move from Schalke, when he was used sparingly by Guardiola, Sane has not looked back since a heart-to-heart with the manager in the lead up to the league game at home to Arsenal shortly before Christmas had a liberating effect on the 21-year-old. Or as Guardiola puts it, he “unlocked” the youngster.
The former Barcelona coach’s message was simple: play with the freedom of Lionel Messi or Neymar and the rest will fall into place. It has. He scored against Arsenal in that 2-1 win and has averaged a goal every other game since. He also scored at Arsenal three weeks ago and will be out to make it a hat-trick against the Gunners on Sunday. Sane in full flight has become a bewitching sight.
“It was the week before the Arsenal game in December when I scored my first goal,” Sane recalls. “It was a good week in training, it went very well. That was like the time to say, ‘Yes, now is the time to carry on’. The coach told me the same, to play free and with confidence