Why has Leroy Sane not renewed contract with Man City?

As players’ contract extensions have continued with Kevin De Bruyne, Raheem Sterling, Aymeric Laporte and more recently Bernardo Silva all renewing terms, Leroy Sane has yet to put pen to paper on a new deal. The 23-year-old has been one of City’s best players in the last two seasons winning the PFA Young Player of the Year award last term. This was due largely to his role in the team as the Sky Blues dominated English football ending the campaign with the double. He was signed on a five-year deal from German side Schalke in the in the summer of 2016.

Renewing the contract has become important to the club in order to wade off interest from other top European sides. Worse still leaving the contract renewal too late can lead to problems such as going overboard to satisfy the player’s demands to avoid losing him without adequate plan for a replacement. Hence, the club has been locked in talks with the player and his representatives since last year without much progress.

However, it has emerged that the player’s family members particularly his parents have been responsible for the delay. Sane’s mother, Regina Weber, who won a bronze medal for Germany at the 1984 Olympics for individual rhythmic gymnastics and his father, Souleyman Sane, a former footballer who represented Senegal at international level have both been involved in the negotiations.

It has subsequently been reported in some media outlets that the player’s mother has proven to be ‘difficult’ in the course of the talks. Although the man in the middle of the situation himself has stated that he is happy at the club, the level of influence being wielded by his family has become a source of concern.

But this can also be viewed as a group that understand the value of their product and want to squeeze out as much as possible from the club in exchange for his services. Who can blame them when recent contract renewals with other players have come with bumper packages. A case in point is that of Raheem Sterling.

Sane seems to have settled down well in Manchester though. The German international also loves playing under Guardiola’s tutelage. With City winning trophies every season now, what more can a player ask for? These are all factors that will help convince him commit his long term future to the club.

Despite starting the season rather slowly as Guardiola felt he wasn’t in the right frame of mind to play due to some family issues, he has since blended in well with the team. Having regained his form, he now scores and sets up goals regularly for his teammates.

Both parties will most likely come to an agreement down the road as the manager considers the 23-year-old a vital part of his squad. The Catalan manager spoke highly of him in a recent interview:

“He (Sane) is a player we know has incredible qualities. It is difficult to find around the world a player with the qualities he has.”

Holding the player in such high esteem means he is going nowhere as the club will do everything necessary to keep him.