Leroy Sane, a talented player for Schalke, has stated that he would want to play for Barcelona in the future.
Despite adamantly stating he won’t be leaving Germany anytime soon, the 20-year-old offensive midfielder has been connected with a number of major teams around Europe. However, he has a soft spot for Barcelona, according to Bild (via Kieran Cleeves of Goal.com):
“I believe I’ll play for Schalke the next season. However, I am open about it. I hope to play abroad for a team that is even greater than Schalke at some point in the future. Most especially at Barca, which was my ideal club since I was a young child.
According to WhoScored.com, Sane has been somewhat of a revelation for Schalke in 2015–16, contributing to five league goals and scoring five more himself.
However, Sane has been about much more than simply goals and assists, so the statistics don’t really tell the whole tale.
He moves in a model manner, making space for others, and his eye for a pass belies his young age of 20.
Here are some examples of what Sane can contribute:
According to a recent story from Football Insider (through James Walters of the Daily Star), Sane was being pursued by Manchester United, Manchester City, and Chelsea in addition to Liverpool, who were considering a £30 million transfer for him.
The German is clearly more interested in moving to Barcelona than to the Premier League, and he also entirely ruled out one other possibility.
Sane was asked if he would think about moving to Schalke’s rivals in the Ruhr, Borussia Dortmund, and he responded, “No, even if successful football is played, I would never move.”
According to Loic Tanzi, Ignasi Oliva, and Bruno Andrade of Goal.com, the center-back has reportedly agreed to a 4.5 million euro annual salary at the Camp Nou.
Marquinhos’ current deal in Paris runs until 2019, and Barca is reportedly willing to pay up to €50 million to entice him to Catalonia.
Barcelona’s incredible unbeaten streak was just halted by Real Madrid in the El Clasico, but the Blaugrana are still in contention to win the Champions League and La Liga in historic fashion.
With a trip to Real Sociedad in the middle of the table on Saturday, Luis Enrique’s team will be trying to pick up where they left off.
