Career thrown in the bin? We’ve all got this “pensioner” wrong | OneFootball

He's actually still very young and, above all, still very good, but that's just the way it is: Leroy Sané is ending his career at just 29 years old. That's how you have to understand it if you look at most of the discussion posts and comments in the reporting around the transfer of the still-Bayern star to Galatasaray Istanbul.

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After all, Sané is switching to a less relevant league for more money at the best football age, which is also stamped as a retirement paradise for aging stars. Accordingly, the move to the Turkish Süper Lig is understood as a "sporting self-demolition" ('t-online') or a decision for the "comfortable way" ('ZEIT'). The 2026 World Cup is also said to have been settled by the decision for "Turkey sinking instead of presence" ('ntv'). We summarize: Leroy Sané is finished.

What's interesting, though, is that for someone who's just about to kick his potential into the trash, Leroy Sané looked pretty relaxed at the reception at Istanbul Airport.

Either someone is very happy to be ending their career prematurely and unworthily, or we've misunderstood something. Let's just accompany the new pensioner a bit longer on his arrival in footballing insignificance.

Hm, even in a car accompanied by pyro smoke from fans, Leroy Sané seems to be feeling quite comfortable with the disposal of his own future. Or, to put it another way: it looks pretty nice there in the sinking ship. And that's especially in contrast to what Sané is allegedly throwing away so carelessly: the big football stage at the German record champion.

One might almost think that Sané was celebrated more in one night in Istanbul than in five full years in Munich. The Bayern fans had every reason to do so. Alone in the last season, he was the fourth-best scorer, overall he has 116 scorer points in 220 competitive games, mind you as a winger. Nevertheless, he never belonged to the most popular players, was always criticized for his body language and recently got whistled by his own fans at the last home game - not for the first time. That he wants to trade in these whistles for the chance to be the celebrated star of a club with such passionate supporters as Galatasaray is understandable, isn't it?

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The accusation of convenience can't be refuted with that, of course, but it's still nonsense. Anyone who thinks Leroy Sané can now make himself comfortable in Istanbul doesn't know Turkish fans. Because you shouldn't be fooled: this love from the Gala fans, which he got a taste of at the airport and in the car, is anything but unconditional.

Although he now has the chance to finally be the figurehead of a club, which wasn't possible at FC Bayern or ManCity, all the energy that has positively struck him upon his arrival in Turkey could quickly turn against him. That's also what someone who knows Turkish football - and especially Galatasaray - well thinks: "Currently, he's the star there. But that can change quickly, especially in the Turkish league and with the media," explains ex-Gala pro Hamit Altintop about the Sané transfer to 'Sky'. "The reception was great, but what counts is what he shows on the pitch. The expectations of him are very high," says the former Schalke player.

What happened at the airport and in the car wasn't just the celebration of a new star, but also the clear formulation of a huge expectation. If you now imagine that this crowd, which isn't too proud to receive him at the airport, turns against him because he can't fulfill the expectations, the accusation of convenience seems a bit silly. Staying at Bayern and collecting three to five more German championships without much depending on him: that would be much more convenient.

With his move, Sané is taking a full risk. He has to be the star of the league immediately, not to disappoint and at the same time risks his ticket for the World Cup next year. But he can also be the biggest star of a league and pull off the trick of playing in the football periphery and still going to the World Cup. High risk, high reward.

This evening, if he's on the pitch for Bayern's first Club World Cup game against Auckland City, he can still make himself comfortable before starting a new chapter in his career. When he ends it, we'll let him decide for himself, perhaps.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇩🇪 here.