With outcast Jadon Sancho now being the only Manchester United player in the semi-finals of the UEFA Champions League, a compelling case can be made that the winger has had the last laugh over Erik ten Hag after his well-publicised conflict with the manager.
Borussia Dortmund advanced to the semi-finals of the Champions League on Tuesday night after winning 4-2 against Atletico Madrid to give themselves a 5-4 aggregate victory over the Spanish giants.
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While the big headline may be the fact that BVB have reached their first UCL semi-final since the 2012/13 season, one thing that also stands out is how Sancho has turned around his fortunes at Signal Iduna Park, while his parent club, which he was essentially discarded from, have been dealing with several challenges Ten Hag has been bearing the brunt of.
At the beginning of September 2023, the Dutchman said during a press conference following a game against Arsenal that he didn't include Sancho in the matchday squad due to the player not showing commitment in training. The English star almost immediately responded on X (Twitter), arguing that he was being made a "scapegoat" by his coach. This public outburst by the skilful attacker landed him in hot water at Old Trafford, and marked his last involvement with the club's first team as he was exiled and forced to train alone for four months.
It is understood that the expectation from Ten Hag was for Sancho to make a public apology to him and his teammates, but the 24-year-old refused to do so, which eventually prompted his return in January this year to Dortmund, the club he had left for United in a deal worth €85 million (R1.7 billion) in July 2021. In the four months since, the London-born winger has played 14 games for the Bundesliga side, registering two goals and two assists.
More notable, however, is the fact that Ten Hag did not include him in any of United's Champions League matchday squads earlier this season, with the English giants being embarrassingly eliminated from the competition during the group stage. The Red Devils finished bottom of their group with four points from six games, keeping them below Bayern Munich, Copenhagen, and even Galatasaray, who managed to seal a UEFA Europa League spot after that.
Sancho's time at Dortmund has been a stark contrast to his complete exclusion at the hands of Ten Hag, having started in every UCL game since returning to Germany, including both legs of their recent quarter-final against Atletico. Moreover, it is also the furthest that the football star has gone in the competition in his career.
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It is becoming increasingly clear that Sancho has had the last laugh over Ten Hag, who could reportedly be dismissed from the Theatre of Dreams helm at the end of the season. Meanwhile, reports suggest that new co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe expects Sancho back at the club at the end of the season as there is no obligation to buy included in his loan deal at Dortmund. As such, there's a reasonable possibility that Sancho could outlast the manager who alienated him in Manchester.
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