With this Galatasaray move, Sané can no longer be taken seriously as a footballer

• In the video above: With a change in the contract offer, Bayern bosses left Sané disappointed

It's unlikely that the Nations League semi-final loss to Portugal might be Leroy Sané's last international match for Germany. Of course not. However, it's certainly possible that some kind of turning point is imminent.

In Munich, it is said, Sané could have received a fixed salary of €12.5 million starting next season, plus a potential €3.5 million in performance bonuses – gross. Bayern wanted to reduce Sané's rumored €20 million salary. At the beginning of May, the parties were close to reaching an agreement, but then Sané changed agents and finally clubs. The end of a farce.

And possibly: the end of the serious top footballer Leroy Sané.

Galatasaray, then. From the Süper Lig – a competition that's only second-rate internationally (sorry, dear Turks). Sané may now be among the greatest there, in terms of both athletic quality and financial clout, but at the same time, this move represents a capitulation to his own ambitions.

Sané is 29, which isn't young for a winger who thrives on explosiveness, but he's not old either. At least three, if not four or five, strong years are still to be expected. Or rather, they would be .

To put it clearly: Anyone who goes from one of Europe's best clubs to footballing insignificance one year before a World Cup loses a great deal of their reputation and credible ambition.

Sané was at Manchester City and for a long time at Bayern, he is an unassailable multi-millionaire, although the operational hygiene of a football changing room is apparently subject to laws that we normal people do not understand.

Meanwhile, the precious sports industry seems to juggle its chips like play money, not even grasping them, the main thing and very, very important thing: not making less money than their colleagues! In this respect, the principle is similar to the free market; the salary level always determines hierarchy, power, and influence.

That Sané is trying to maximize these factors (and thus his value) is fair and understandable. Choosing Turkey as the ideal destination is not. Not at this age, not with his options, not in the summer before the World Cup.

For FC Bayern, Sané's departure isn't news that threatens the club's existence. The Munich club is losing a player who was good, sometimes very good, and occasionally outstanding; but who never managed to become a reliable factor, especially in the top games by which Bayern define themselves.

Acquired in 2020 for around €50 million, Sané has proven above all that he's not going to prove himself when it really matters. That may sound harsh and somewhat populist, but think about it: Which decisive game had a decisive impact on Sané's career at Bayern? The 2024 Champions League semifinals against Real Madrid were strong, to be sure. But what else?

Last season, he scored goals against Bochum, Mainz, Hoffenheim, Bremen, Union Berlin, and St. Pauli; and two against Leipzig. His 2024/25 Champions League record: zero assists and one goal against Zagreb. When it came down to nuances in the quarterfinals against Inter Milan, Sané remained pale and ineffective, and that wasn't even a surprise.

To put it even more bluntly: The young Frenchman Michael Olise, signed from Crystal Palace in 2024, had more influence in his first season at Bayern than Sané did in five years at Munich. In his 220 competitive matches, he has recorded 61 goals and 55 assists. That's not bad, really, but it's also not what was once promised.