Having spent eight years at Hannover 96, Kenyan midfielder Linton Maina shared a heartfelt message to the club’s fans as he opened up on his best moment at the club and his close relationship with Senegalese defender Salif Sané.Maina sealed the move to Bundesliga outfit FC Köln on Friday evening as confirmed by the head coach Steffen Baumgart in his pre-match press conference ahead of their weekend game which they lost 2-1 to VfB Stuttgart.Kenyan winger seals move to BundesligaThe 22-year-old joined Hannover back in 2014 from SV Empor Youth and rose through the age ranks of the club before making his senior debut for the club back in March 2018, coming on as a substitute for Marvin Bakalorz in a 0–1 away loss against Borussia Dortmund.The fleet-footed winger took to his social media pages to pen a heartfelt message to the fans having spent most of his life in the city and at the club.“Hanover! I have spent more than a third of my life in Hanover. There were many beautiful moments for me here. There are simply too many to name everyone who has supported and accompanied me here in Hanover over the past 8 years, from the U16s to today. I would like to thank all of you who have helped me to arrive here, feel good, and get through difficult times. Thank you Hanover!” read a post from Maina.Köln have completed the signing of Linton Maina as free agent, coming from Hannover. Deal now signed and sealed, official statement soon. 🇩🇪 #transfers— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) May 13, 2022 The midfielder who was born to a Kenyan father and a German mother opened up on his most memorable moment during his eight years at the club in an interview with the club’s official portal.“The Friday evening game in the 2018/19 season against Borussia Dortmund – that was my first home game in front of a full house and my second professional game from the start. I was allowed to play against Marco Reus and in the end, I even became “Man of the Match”. That was the craziest game. That’s when I realized for the first time that I could keep up. Playing through 90 minutes against such an opponent with top-class players, was my highlight. But of course, there were so many great games. My first goal or the derby win here – those were also very special moments,” said the midfielder.Assist for Maina in Germany as Tera and Magnus featureAsked about the most important connections he made while at the club, Maina named Salif Sané at the top of his list who is now in the books of FC Schalke 04.“I actually always got along well with everyone, but of course, I had an extremely good relationship with Salif (Sané) and Charlie (Benschop) in the first year, also with Felipe and a little later with them Ihlas (Bebou) – when I found out he can talk (laughs). Then “Duckschi” (Marvin Ducksch), “Flo” (Muslija) and “Waldi” (Anton) were added. This year it’s “Kerki” (Sebastian Kerk) and Maxi (Beier). Nevertheless, I have always had important people to relate to off the pitch. Micky for example, that’s my best colleague here. I played with him when I was young. Actually, we almost feel like a flatshare because we see each other every day. He was always there for me, even when things weren’t going so well,” added Maina.
