Leroy Sane has revealed the sage advice he received from Pep Guardiola to help ignite his Manchester City career – play like Lionel Messi.
When Sane first arrived from Schalke in 2016, he struggled to make an impact as injuries hindered his transition into the Premier League.
But the 22-year-old has gone on to establish himself at the club, playing a key role in their rise to the top of the table and progress to the last 16 of the Champions League.
And Sane gave an insight into his manager s motivational skills as he explained how Guardiola has got the best out of him following a slow start.
I needed a little time to settle, to know the Premier League, the people here, how they are and to know the players, he said in quotes reported by The Guardian. I had to find my confidence.
Pep told me to play with freedom like [Lionel] Messi, not like Messi – it s impossible!
Be free like Messi, have fun, do things like he wants from a striker like the end of the space [near goal] – take the option to shoot or give an assist.
20 Leroy Sane has been directly involved in 20 goals for Manchester City this season (9 goals, 11 assists); the third City player to achieve that feat so far. Spree.
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe)
Guardiola has spoken in glowing terms about Sane s potential and the Germany international is excited to see how far his talent will take him.
He added: No player at the beginning of his career knows how good he can be. It s exciting and for me it s a challenge to see how good I can be, how I can get to the best level.
It s really nice to see how it will go.”
Sane s nine goals this season is equal to the tally he achieved in the whole of the last campaign.
