Jadon Sancho arrived at Manchester United with hopes of becoming the main man at Old Trafford, but just weeks after he was signed, Cristiano Ronaldo joined him and the situation changed
Jadon Sancho’s issues at Manchester United are believed to have started well before Erik ten Hag’s appointment as manager last year.
Ten Hag dropped Sancho for United’s 3-1 loss against Arsenal and said after the game it was due to his performances in training. However, Sancho hit back at Ten Hag on social media in a now-deleted post, branding his comments “completely untrue” and claiming he has “been a scapegoat for a long time”.
The 23-year-old certainly has not hit the heights expected of him when he made a £73m move to Old Trafford from Borussia Dortmund in 2021. And fresh reports suggest that problems reared their head shortly after his arrival.
However, Ronaldo’s return meant he ended up taking the No 7 from Edinson Cavani instead, with Sancho instead taking No 25. United as a whole were poor in Sancho’s first season, with their lacklustre form resulting in manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer getting the sack.
Ralf Rangnick then replaced Solskjaer on an interim basis until the end of the season and Sancho’s performances improved. However, it is claimed that Ronaldo was unhappy with Rangnick’s tactics and arranged a meeting with the manager to discuss them.
The report claims Ronaldo wanted United to start playing two out-and-out strikers and move away from Rangnick’s favoured 4-3-3 formation which would have seen Sancho dropped to the bench. However, the England international had just scored twice in his last three games and Rangnick ‘argued that such a shift in system would stymie his form’.
Jadon Sancho was reportedly promised the No 7 shirt when he joined Manchester United, but the club broke their promise when Cristiano Ronaldo returned to Old Trafford ( Image: OLI SCARFF/AFP via Getty Images)This article contains affiliate links, we will receive a commission on any sales we generate from it. Learn moreManchester United home shirt 2023/2024Get the United home shirt for 23/34
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Ronaldo later went public with his feelings on Rangnick’s six-month stint at Old Trafford in his interview with Piers Morgan last year. “Deep inside me, I never saw him as the boss because I saw some points that I never agreed,” Ronaldo said.
“They [Rangnick and his backroom staff] don’t [know what they are doing]. They knew with the club, very well. But they don’t know the main dimension of the club inside, the history of the club.
“Which is, for me, surprised me even more. Which is when you sack Ole Solskjaer, you should bring a top manager, not a sports director.”
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Source: mirror.co.uk