Leroy Sane: "Serge Gnabry and I can't be compared to Franck Ribery and Arjen Robben yet"
Leroy Sane has played down suggestions his partnership with Bayern Munich teammate Serge Gnabry can already be compared to the legendary duo formed by Franck Ribery and Arjen Robben.
Sane joined Bayern from Manchester City in the summer, and hit the ground running with a goal as well as two assists for his new teammate as Gnabry hit a maiden Bundesliga hat-trick in the 8-0 opening-day demolition of Schalke.
Robben and Ribery, dubbed 'Robbery' by German media, combined for 17 Bundesliga titles between them over a silverware-stocked decade at the Allianz Arena until they both left with their names writ large in Bayern legend following the final game of the 2018/19 season.
Watch: Sane and Gnabry star as Bayern smash eight past Schalke
With Philippe Coutinho returning to Barcelona over the summer, Sane now wears the number 10 shirt previously owned by Robben while Gnabry has switched to the number 7 shirt Ribery graced to further spark comparisons.
Sane, however, is aware that he and Gnabry are only at the start of a potentially successful partnership.
'We've just had one game'
"I can't talk about comparisons with 'Robbery'," said the 24-year-old Germany international. "The two of them stamped their mark on the club with a world-class decade. For now, we've just had one game in a Bayern shirt that went quite well."
The way Sane clicked with Gnabry to help pick Schalke apart was hugely promising for Bayern, though perhaps no real surprise when you consider the pair have already teamed up on a number of occasions for their country.
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"I've always had contact with Serge. We played together in the Germany youth teams," explained Sane. "We now get along just as well as ever both on and off the pitch."
Whether they will ever be as good or even surpass their predecessors remains to be seen. For now, the pressing question is: what should the UEFA Champions League winners' new dynamic duo be called?
Ribery weighed in by saying, "I really like 'Sanabry'" while 'Gnané' has also been put forward, though Sane believes the final word should come from the supporters: "I can live with both. The fans should decide what they like best."
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