Will he stay or will he go? It seemed all well prepared for Leroy Sané to sign a new contract. Earlier this month, Sané appeared ready to sign a new contract at Bayern Munich.

According to a report by Germany’s Sport Bild, Bayern and Sané had agreed to a new three-year contract worth €10 million ($11.4 million) a season plus €5 million ($5.7 million) in potential bonuses. But rather than signing that deal, Sané changed agencies at the last moment.

Now represented by Pini Zahavi’s Gol International, Sané tried to renegotiate an already agreed-upon deal. Bayern Munich, however, refused to engage in negotiations to change the agreed-upon terms as they don’t want to set a precedent that deals can be changed through an agent change.

“He said today that he doesn’t want to accept our offer in this form,” Bayern director of sport Max Eberl said in the mixed zone following Bayern’s 4-0 win over Hoffenheim on Saturday.

Does that mean Sané is set to leave? “There’s no bad blood,” Eberl said. “The offer is there. We’ve expressed our wish. You can feel, at least in my opinion, that Leroy wants to stay. Now we’ll see what happens in the next few days.”

In other words, Bayern is still interested in keeping the winger. But not at any cost. The question is, what does Sané want to do next?

“I briefly spoke to him,” Bayern midfielder Joshua Kimmich said in the mixed zone after the Hoffenheim game. “The most important thing is that Leroy will decide for himself. Does he want to stay, or does he want to experience something else?”

Then Kimmich makes a plaidoyer for Sané to stay. “When you see how we’ve played this season, I, as a player at this team and as a player of another club, would be keen to be a part of this. This is a great club; we have a great coach and team—and we’re playing some impressive football.”

There are certainly good arguments for why Bayern would like to keep Sané. The winger has played his best season for Bayern Munich, scoring 11 goals and six assists in 30 games. It was his most productive Bundesliga season in a Bayern Munich jersey.

With that in mind, it is somewhat surprising that Sané is still available. “In general, the times have changed,” Kimmich said. “When I see that not only Leroy but also Jonathan Tah are still available at the end of May, despite being free agents, that wouldn’t have been the case three or four years ago.”

That’s certainly true. Players out of contract on Jul. 1 are allowed to negotiate contracts with potential new clubs starting on Jan. 1 of the same year. With that in mind, potential free agents like Sané or Tah would have usually announced their new club as soon as possible.

As Kimmich pointed out, though, those times have changed. This also benefited Bayern Munich this year. After all, Kimmich himself was a free agent going into 2025, as was Canadian left-back Alphonso Davies. Both signed new long-term deals with Bayern after Jan. 1, with Davies signing a new deal in February and Kimmich in March.

Now the question remains, will Sané stay or go? “We made a reasonable and attractive offer, in our opinion,” Bayern president Herbert Hainer said on Saturday. “If he accepts it, we’ll be happy. If he doesn’t, then that’s his decision. Life goes on. The offer will remain the same.”

It certainly wouldn’t be the end of the world if Sané leaves. Bayern Munich need to make room in their salary structure for new players and, as a result, can’t afford to keep Sané at all costs, especially as his Champions League numbers—one goal in 13 games—don’t justify a bigger deal.

So, what will happen next? That remains to be seen. Sané has reportedly received a big offer from the Saudi Pro League, where he could earn more than $25 million a season, but the player appears to be somewhat unwilling to move there. Chelsea and Arsenal have also expressed interest, but both clubs are sceptical about the viability of signing Sané for a big package.

With all that in mind, Bayern is in a strong position. Although their offer is not financially the best, it might be the most lucrative for Sané’s future. Does that mean he will sign? Time will tell.