06 August 2023 , 16:10
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Bayern Munich have denied allegations from Sadio Mane's PR manager that Leroy Sane made a 'racial insult' to his former teammate.
The pair were involved in a high-profile bust-up at the end of last season with ex-Liverpool star Mane said to have punched his teammate, leaving him with a bloodied lip. Speaking earlier this summer, Mane looked to move on from the incident, insisting the pair had buried the hatchet.
Mane, who has since left Bayern after one season to join Saudi side Al-Nassr, insisted: "This kind of things can happen. It happened. We were able to solve this small problem. Sometimes it's good to solve problems, but maybe not in this way. It's behind us now."
One of his representatives, Bacary Cisse, has now reignited the feud and pointed the finger at Sane, while alleging Bayern sided with the former Manchester City winger.
In an interview with After Foot RMC, Cisse claimed: "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.
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"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 apologised 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 Mane has completed a move to Saudi Arabia (Stringer/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)Cisse was then asked if Sane made a 'racially insulting' comment to Mane, alleging: "Yes, indeed. I can't enter into certain details. That's why I said there was ingratitude from Bayern's part. It's crazy."
Bayern sporting director Hasan Salihamidzic has now denied the claim, insisting: "We know about this allegation. We spoke to Leroy about it. He assured us very clearly that he had never said anything like that and we believe him.
"We spent two days speaking openly with everyone involved and worked through that. For us, the matter is settled."
Bayern boss Thomas Tuchel admitted he was disappointed to lose Mane but felt his move from Liverpool had simply not worked out, and the time was right for him to move on. But Cisse insists his exit was 'not a football decision' and was instead down to the German champions not wanting an African player as their highest earner.
He added: "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 Tuchel to tell him that he will be a third choice left winger.
"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.
"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."