From Munich to Istanbul: Leroy Sané’s Galatasaray era begins

Former Bayern star Leroy Sané was greeted with frenetic cheers from fans during his debut for Galatasaray Istanbul.

Leroy Sané came on as a substitute in the 75th minute of the Turkish champions’ 3-1 friendly win over French first division side Racing Strasbourg, with the score at 3-0. The Galatasaray fans celebrated their new star player loudly during the warm-up and later during his actions on the pitch.

Sané was thrilled by the atmosphere and the euphoric reception from the fans: “Of course, that makes me happy and really pushes me on,” said the German international in an interview on Galatasaray’s YouTube page. “I was delighted to get a few minutes of playing time today – and of course, I was also happy to celebrate a little with the fans.”

The attacking player, who moved to Turkey on a free transfer in the summer after five years at FC Bayern, has only been training for a few days. Galatasaray kicks off the season on August 8th with an away game at Gaziantep FK.

Sané is Galatasaray’s most valuable player in the squad with a market value of €32 million, according to Transfermarkt. That also makes him the 2nd most valuable player in the Turkish Süper Lig, right behind Fenerbahçe Istanbul’s Jhon Durán (€35 million).