[News] Sadio Mane’s PR manager claims Leroy Sane ‘racially insulted’ the Senegalese winger and that the club and German press ‘covered and protected’ the player following the incident

Sadio Mane’s PR manager, Bacary Cisse, has accused Leroy Sane of racially insulting the winger when the two fell out at Bayern Munich.

 

The Senegalese joined Saudi Arabian side Al-Nassr in a £34m move on Tuesday, bringing his disastrous spell at Bayern to an end just a year after he joined from Liverpool.

 

 

At Bayern Munich, Mane clashed with Sane in April after Bayern’s first-leg Champions League quarter-final defeat against Manchester City at the Etihad, which City won 3-0.

 

When the players left the field, Mane and Sane were seen arguing and Mane was reported to have punched his team-mate in the face, leaving him with a bloodied lip as other players were forced to separate them.

 

 

Three months on from the incident, Cisse in an interview with After Foot RMC, alleged that Sane ‘racially insulted’ his client, and that Bayern covered up the ‘crazy’ incident as the fallout developed.

 

When asked if Sane did racially insult Mane, – and if Bayern tried to cover up what happened and protect Sane – Cisse replied: ‘Yes, indeed. I can’t enter into certain details. That’s why I said there was ingratitude from Bayern’s part. It’s crazy.’

Mane was said to have been picked up at Munich Airport in a private vehicle when the team arrived back the day after the game, while Sane boarded the team coach

 

Sane was seen donning a cap in what appeared to be a bit to hide his injuries following the incident, with the players eventually seen engaging in a more civilised manner on the field days later.

 

 

Cisse defended his client, delving into what he judged to be the personality of both players, before launching an attack on the German press for their coverage of what happened.

 

‘Everyone with a knowledge of European football knows that Sane is a very condescending guy, while Sadio is very calm and has shown that everywhere he played,’ he said.

‘Sane has exceeded the limits. Many wrong things were said about what happened. Many dirty things came out from the German press. They sided with Sane against Sadio. They said Sadio was fined €500k, which is a lie.

 

‘Sane apologized to Sadio after the incident. Why? Because he knew it was him who f***** up. He called some players and told them: “I sent a text to Sadio, tell him to respond”.

 

‘Sadio responded and accepted his apology, but told him that shouldn’t happen again.’

Cisse also sensationally claimed the forward’s exit from Bayern Munich was not for footballing reasons but because they couldn’t understand how an African star was their highest-paid player. 

 

‘It wasn’t a footballing decision (to sell him),’ he said. ‘Sadio’s salary bothered the Germans, they didn’t understand how an African joins the club and becomes the top earner ahead of everyone, so they wanted to get rid of him.

‘They never called the player’s representatives. They never told Sadio face-to-face that they wanted to get rid of him. They just sent (Thomas) Tuchel to tell him that he will be a third choice left winger.  

 

‘Sadio has nothing to prove to the Germans. He didn’t become what he’s become thanks to Bayern. It was thanks to Liverpool. Bayern were ungrateful. They were paying an African all this money, and that hurt them.’