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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Sport
Samuel Meade

Sadio Mane and Leroy Sane-style fight happened at Man Utd - "It's hard to control"

Louis Saha admits fights like the one involving Leroy Sane and Sadio Mane are "hard to control" and they "happened" at Manchester United.

The Frenchman, who signed for the Red Devils in January 2004, stopped short of naming any individuals involved, but confessed dressing room clashes were not out of the ordinary. Bayern Munich recently had to deal with a dressing room bust up as two of their forwards clashed.

It left Sane with a bloody lip as Mane was fined by the German club. Bayern demand high standards, as do United, and the pursuit of excellence can lead to heightened emotions, which may often boil over. Roy Keane skippered the club for years and has made no secret of his demands over the years.

Saha told DAZN Bet : "What happened between Mane and Sane did happen at Man Utd, although I don’t remember names. I was not in the middle of any fights, not because I wasn’t the biggest or scariest. There was respect in our dressing room, people understood what you wanted and everyone was very honest in their approach.

"If you had nasty moments, it’s hard to control. But it’s normal, it happens. Not everybody is the same, like me or George Weah back in the day, you can’t imagine those guys getting in fights because we have a way of doing things and it worked. But some have different expressions. Roy Keane was so important for the club.

"His emotion, behaviour and body language was very intense. Some people like it and some don’t. That’s normal, we are competitive guys and want to win trophies. I do not promote fighting, but I promote expression of emotions and it’s not perfect."

The Bayern Munich pair recently clashed after a Champions League defeat (Offside via Getty Images)

Roy Keane has previously said on Off The Ball: "We'd had a lot of heated discussions over the years as a team, but you've got to roll with that, its grown men and we're fighting for the same things. I think when you have these debates and heated arguments - I think its good because you're looking for the same things, you're hungry."

Bayern's expression of emotion did little to help them wrestle back their Champions League tie after their 3-0 loss in Manchester. Pep Guardiola's side completed the job in Munich as they secured a 1-1 draw to make the last four.

Thomas Tuchel has said on Mane's clash with Sane: "It was a heavy incident - it was very important that it was cleared before the next training session. I've known Sadio for many years - he is a top professional. He's never had a situation like that. He is focused on football, he has my full confidence. Everybody has the right to make a mistake."

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