‘I would have loved for him to stay here’
PEP Guardiola says he would have ‘loved’ for Leroy Sane to have stayed at City.
But the Blues boss says that the Germany international had made up his mind that he would be better off at Bayern Munich.
The 24-year-old is set to join the Bundesliga outfit in the next 24 hours after the clubs agreed a deal worth £54.8m.
It came after Sane turned down a new contract at City and doubled his money by moving to Bayern.
Guardiola said that there was no point trying to stand in his way.
“It looks like it but it is not already done,” he said of the deal, with Sane due in Munich in the next day or two.
“There are some little issues but it looks like he is going to go to Munich.
“We wish him all the best and big thanks for our years together.
“He will have another chapter at a fantastic club in Bayern Munich.
“He wanted to leave. Everyone has their own life and he decided to move on.
“I would have loved for him to stay but he believed he would be better and happier there.”
Guardiola also claims he isn’t bothered how big the points gap with Liverpool ends up as he prepares City for other challenges for the club.
City’s defeat to Chelsea last week left them 23 points off top spot and confirmed Jurgen Klopp’s side as Premier League champions, meaning the Merseyside club will be welcomed by the 2018 and 2019 winners with a guard of honour at the Etihad tonight.
Liverpool could increase the lead in that fixture, and there are seven games remaining in total for the gap to grow or narrow.
Guardiola wants a committed performance from his players, and is keen to wrap up a top-four spot as quickly as possible, but considers the Premier League ‘over.’
While much has been made of the chasm between the two sides, Liverpool finished 25 points behind the Blues in the 2017/18 season and nearly made that up entirely in the following campaign.
Guardiola declared the team’s remaining seven games as an ‘incredible opportunity’ to arrive in the best possible condition for the latter stages of the FA Cup and Champions League.
“The Premier League is over but we play every game first to qualify for the Champions League and we are still not be there,” said Guardiola.
“I know how tough it can be when you play like you are.
“It is not about the points gap or whatever, now it is about preparing us for the next season and the best way is to prepare us for the games against Arsenal and Madrid. “All the games we have in the Premier League are an incredible opportunity to arrive in these two games in the best possible condition.
“I like the way we approached the games against Newcastle
“We have suffered a lot there in previous years recently in the Premier League and dropped [more] points this season.
“The way we played there, that is what we want to see.”
He wanted to leave. Everyone has their own life and he decided to move on
Pep Guardiola on Leroy Sane