A current Manchester United coach has revealed why Jadon Sancho refused to apologize to Erik ten Hag. This led to his exile from the team. He subsequently returned to Borussia Dortmund. Benni McCarthy former striker for Blackburn, West Ham and Porto and now a coach at Manchester United has shed light on this tense situation.
The Beginning of the Demise
Sancho’s troubles at Manchester United started when he was dropped from matchday squad for early-season clash with Arsenal. Ten Hag cited poor training performances as reason for the exclusion. Sancho took to social media to deny the allegations and claimed he was made scapegoat. This indirectly called his manager a liar.
Isolation and Stalemate
Following this public dispute Sancho was made to train alone. He was barred from eating with teammates in the club’s canteen. Ten Hag stood firm, insisting Sancho needed to apologize to be reintegrated into squad. The £73 million star refused to back down and this resulted in a prolonged stalemate.
Return to Dortmund
In January, Sancho returned to his former club Borussia Dortmund on loan. He is now on the brink of Champions League glory with German side. They are set to face Real Madrid in the final. Benni McCarthy speaking on South African radio station 947 Joburg, explained Sancho’s refusal to apologize.
Benni McCarthy’s Perspective
“If you’re from streets no one wants to apologize” McCarthy said. “You admit you are not training well, you are lazy, everything you are accused of, Jadon wasn’t going to have that.”
“The manager has strong character and just said all he wants is an apology. Jadon thought he had done nothing wrong. He didn’t see why he had to apologize. Sometimes you have to apologize. A player will never win against manager.”
Attempting Mediation
Benni McCarthy tried to mediate. He spoke to Sancho as a coach mentor and friend. “I spoke to Jadon as a coach, mentor friend and someone who grew up on streets and knows code. But Jadon just wasn’t seeing it. He said, ‘I ain’t apologizing because if I do I’m apologizing for being lazy, always being late, not giving my best. That’s what I’m apologizing for.’ Those were his reasons.”
McCarthy also spoke to Ten Hag about delicate situation. “I spoke to manager. I said to him you know the delicacy. I think Jadon feels if he apologizes he will be classed as someone who doesn’t train hard and doesn’t work hard. That everything that was said against him was true.”
The Dragging Saga
Benni McCarthy lamented that saga “ended up dragging” and suggested it could have been “easily avoided just by communication.” He also mentioned uncertainty of his future at Manchester United. His contract is set to expire next month.
“I don’t know if I’m going to stay or leave. I learned a lot at Man United. Working with Erik, he’s one of smartest managers I’ve known. My contract ends in June. If club wants me to continue in this role I would be grateful. That would be great. I love my role. I love working for Manchester United. But the desire to be manager, to be person in charge is still there.”
Sancho’s Chance for Redemption
Sancho meanwhile, could be in line to start Saturday’s Champions League final. He has played in all six of Dortmund’s knockout matches. This includes both legs of the semi-final triumph over Paris Saint-Germain.
Paul Lambert’s Take
Former Dortmund Champions League winner Paul Lambert spoke to SunSport about Sancho’s situation. “For Jadon this is really great opportunity — he could become legend forever at Dortmund. After what we did against Juventus, they still call me ‘legend’ in Dortmund. Actually Jude (Bellingham) used to call me that. I had to politely ask him to stop doing it.”
“Jude moved from Dortmund. It has gone so well. But that has not been the case for Jadon. He had nightmare at United. It would have been tough to go through that. Now, he is not getting criticized by fans media, pundits or his manager. Everyone loves him at Dortmund where he was before.”
A New Beginning
Sancho has scored twice and assisted three times in 14 Bundesliga appearances for Dortmund this term. He added further goal in Europe. Scoring in the round of 16 victory over PSV Eindhoven. This final presents Sancho with significant chance to solidify his legacy at Dortmund. Move past the tumultuous period at Manchester United.
