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Manchester United coach Benni McCarthy has revealed the real reason behind Jadon Sancho and Erik ten Hag’s feud.
As the 24-year-old winger prepares for a Champions League final against Real Madrid at Wembley for his loan side Borussia Dortmund, things may have been so different.
Last season Sancho and Ten Hag shared a good relationship as the Dutchman allowed the Englishman months off to recover mentally and the winger scored seven goals in 41 appearances, playing an important role in run-in.
However, after only three games this year, their relationship turned sour.
Sancho’s exclusion from the squad to face Arsenal at the start of September hit the headlines and the United manager claimed this was due to the player’s efforts in training.
Irritated by the public nature of his coach’s comments, Sancho took to social media to defend himself and claimed he was a “scapegoat”. Despite later deleting the post, the winger was banished from the first-team squad for not apologising and he was eventually loaned out to Germany in January.
In an interview with 947 Joburg, United coach McCarthy revealed what exactly happened between player and manager.
“I spoke to the manager, and I said to him that you know the delicacy”, McCarthy said. “And I think Jadon feels that if he apologises, then he’s going to be classed as someone who doesn’t train hard, that doesn’t work hard, who that everything that was said against him was true.”
“And if you are from the streets, no one wants to apologise; you admit you are not training well, you are lazy, everything you are accused of. Jadon wasn’t going to have that. The manager just said that all he wants is an apology.”
McCarthy claimed he did his best to convince Sancho to back down but he could not be convinced.
“I spoke to Jadon as a coach, as a mentor, as a friend, and as someone who grew up on the streets and knows the code. But Jadon just wasn’t seeing it. He said, ‘I ain’t apologising because if I do, I’m apologising for being lazy, always being late, not giving my best. That’s what I’m apologizing for’, and those were his reasons.”
The Englishman’s future seems destined to be away from Manchester as both Dortmund and the player are keen on continuing their reunion, but United’s asking price is said to be a problem for the Bundesliga side.
Sancho’s future will certainly be one of the most discussed aspects of what promises to be a huge summer of change at Old Trafford.
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