Leroy Sane is an absolute magician with the ball at his feet. Just ask the Premier League right-backs that suffered at the hands of his torment during his stint at Manchester City.
Dribbles, runs in behind, pace, amazing range of passing and glorious ball striking, Sane has it all in his locker. Look carefully, and you may be able to say the same about his hair too.
Leroy Sane has come a long way in his career. Starting out his journey at Schalke, the then young Sane caught the eye of Pep Guardiola during his time at Bayern Munich which prompted Guardiola to ask Leroy to follow him to Manchester City. The Etihad is where Sane made a name for himself.
An explosive left-footed winger capable of playing on both flanks, Sane put the world on notice with his skillset and consistency. So impressed were the onlookers, that Bayern decided to sign him in 2020, even though he was returning from a devastating ACL injury that he sustained at City.
While fans have been awestruck at times by Sane’s amazing skill and prowess, they also have been treated to a variety of cool haircuts Sane has styled over the years.
Schalke days
Initially during his early twenties and his formative time at Schalke 04, in the Bundesliga, Sane donned variants of his famous afro hair. Before making it to the first team, in his academy exploits he had a trimmed version of it. As he begun to grow them out, he used to tie them behind his head for a cleaner more Rudd Guilit and Edgar Davis inspired look.
After a while he let his hair flow and styled the afro. It is a style that fans have come to resonate with the German.
Only at times he would use a hairband to split the afro and push it back as a means of prohibiting his perfect hair to obstruct his view.
At the Etihad
Now playing under the bright lights of one of Europe’s finest in Manchester City’s Etihad stadium, Sane didn’t even once style his hair differently as a sign of humility. Keeping in mind, he was only 20 years of age when he made the move.
That’s not to say he didn’t take care of his afro, as evidenced by social media posts on twitter showcasing his hair care routine and also his irk when someone fondles with it. But he certainly was fully focused on his football.
Only for Germany did he try out the braids for the first time during the German National Team training camp before the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia, for which he couldn’t make it to the squad unfortunately.
Humble and hard working, Sane didn’t bother visiting his barber again until the start of the 2019/20 season. Unfortunately for him, the next time he sported some fancy braid locks and transforming his afro, he suffered a dangerous anterior cruciate ligament injury against Liverpool in the Community Shield. It was increasingly evident and clear, that braids wasn’t a good omen for Leroy.
For his fans and stylists alike, Sane wasn’t to be seen again on the field or with his braids until Bayern signed him up in the summer of 2020, a year delayed due to his ACL tear and raising a few eyebrows considering he was a player returning from a devastating injury with few chances of ever recovering to be a player he had been before.
Redemption at Bayern
However, just like Sane’s form, with a little bit of faith, his afro made a serious comeback.
Under Hansi Flick, then Julian Nagelsmann and now Thomas Tuchel, Sane may have been a mainstay in the Bayern attack, his hair however underwent a serious change. After smoothening over his afro, and straightening them, Sane now dons a clean and tightly-fixated man bun holding up his long hair.
Not sure if I'm more impressed with that assist from Toni Kroos, or with how perfectly Leroy Sane's hair is slicked back into a bun.
It’s a choice of style that he has remained consistent with and one that really caught everyone’s attention even during yesterday’s entertaining 2-2 draw with Real Madrid in the first leg of their Champions League Semi Final tie.
While Sane has found an hairstyle he could style consistently, the same can be said about his form. With another blistering goal against Madrid, Sane has proved his importance to the team yet again. With an all-to-play for second leg next week, you can expect Leroy’s magic left foot and his allegiance to his perfect bun to be one of the highlights of the game.
