"It's not the truth" - Former coach makes bold claim on Leroy Sane's attitude after row with Sadio Mane

Leroy Sane’s former coach, Norbert Elgert, has stated that the Bayern Munich winger has been misunderstood by some in the football media.

Sane has been in the news following an altercation with teammate Sadio Mane. Mane and Sane were seen arguing on the pitch during the Bundesliga giants' 3-0 defeat to Manchester City in the first leg of the UEFA Champions League quarterfinals this week.

Reports stated that the duo continued arguing in the dressing room, which led to Mane hitting Sane on the lips, leaving a mark on the German's face.

With several questioning Sane’s attitude and work ethic, his former Schalke youth team coach Elgert has come to the player's defence. Speaking to talkSPORT, he stated that he has no doubts about the German's mentality. He said:

“Great football talent, good character, his attitude was OK. People say he has a lack of attitude but it’s not the truth, he worked very hard, sometimes his body language could be interpreted the wrong way."

He continued:

"When he was here we had a very successful time together, we won the German U19 championship in 2015 with Thilo Kerher from West Ham, it was a good time for us together.”

Recalling how he once had to teach Sane a rare lesson, Elgert said:

“He came up to the first team very early and made himself a big career, there are some interesting stories Leroy was already playing sometimes in the professional team but also our team and he came back to our team and I put him in the first XI.”

He added:

“I benched him after 30 minutes because there was a lack of intensity, and there was another player Felix Platte, and I benched both of them, not to show them I’m the chief, the boss, it was to learn, they weren’t happy, but I explained it for them.”

Elgert, who also developed other stars like Manuel Neuer, Mesut Ozil, and Joel Matip, said that Sane still thanks him for it to this day for that. He disclosed:

“Today Leroy talks about our time and says ‘whew, it wasn’t easy, but I learned so much and I’m very grateful and I understand now why the coach made it like that’.”

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Sadio Mane was called a ‘black sh**’ by Leroy Sane, which led to their fight: Reports

According to a report by Taggat on Thursday, April 13, Leroy Sane allegedly called Sadio Mane 'Black Sh**', which resulted in Mane's reaction.

Sane has since expressed his regret over the matter and apologized. Mane, meanwhile, is yet to apologize to his teammates and has also been fined and dropped from the squad for the Bundesliga home game against 1899 Hoffenheim.

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