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Manchester United have confirmed Jadon Sancho will depart the club on a free transfer this summer when his contract expires.
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The Red Devils tied Sancho down to a five-year contract when he joined from Borussia Dortmund in 2021 for a fee of $100.7 million (£72.9 million), negotiating an option to extend that deal by a further 12 months if desired.
However, after a miserable five years, United are declining the chance to trigger that option, instead allowing Sancho to leave Old Trafford for free at the end of the month.
Sancho will follow Casemiro out the exit door, with the pair also joined by injury-plagued left back Tyrell Malacia.
What Went Wrong for Sancho at Man Utd?
While hindsight is a wonderful thing, it must be noted that United’s acquisition of Sancho in 2021 was widely hailed as somewhat of a coup at the time, with nearly every elite club on the planet battling to sign a 21-year-old winger that had been tearing it up in the Bundesliga.
In his three full seasons with Dortmund, Sancho racked up 37 goals and 47 assists in just 92 league games-form that had many wondering whether he should have actually ended up costing United more than he did.
“He will form an integral part of my squad for years to come and we look forward to seeing him blossom,” said Ole Gunnar Solskjær, United’s manager at a time in a prediction which did not age well for anybody involved.
In 14 appearances under Solskjær, Sancho failed to add either a goal or an assist as he battled against the physical transition to life in England’s top flight. At just 21 years old and with the world expecting Ballon d’Or-worthy performances week after week, every mistake was scrutinized and the pressure became unbearable.
In came Erik ten Hag, who initially tried to give Sancho a platform upon which he could explode, but nothing changed. The winger deleted his social media accounts in November 2022 in the first sign of a problem, after which Ten Hag confirmed Sancho was dealing with “both physical and mental” challenges.
Reports suggested Sancho had not given the club permission to go public with his off-field struggles, kicking off an increasingly ugly relationship between player and manager.
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The headline came in September 2023. Ten Hag claimed Sancho had been dropped from a matchday squad for poor training, but the winger bit back in stunning fashion on social media, effectively accusing his manager of lying as he claimed he was being made a “scapegoat.”
After refusing to apologize, Sancho was sent on loan back to Dortmund for the remainder of the 2023–24 season, impressing once again as his temporary employers reached the Champions League final. A particularly impressive performance in a semifinal triumph over Paris Saint-Germain had many wondering how things could have gone so poorly in Manchester.
In reality, it proved to be a false dawn for Sancho. Despite shaking hands with Ten Hag that summer, the winger departed on another loan to Chelsea who, despite a mixed season, paid a financial penalty to walk back on an obligation to sign Sancho permanently.
One final loan to Aston Villa was hoped to reignite Sancho’s career but could not reverse the trajectory as he struggled to break into Unai Emery’s starting lineup. A permanent deal was never on the table and United, out of fear of having to swallow the mammoth wages that once felt reasonable, have cut ties with Sancho for good.
Working out who is to blame here is always going to be tough. Did Sancho perform well enough on the pitch anywhere outside of Germany? Considering the expectations facing him upon his arrival, you would have to say no. However, is that solely on Sancho?
He clearly did not see eye to eye with Ten Hag, while Sancho never truly looked comfortable in the Premier League, perhaps better-suited to facing the high lines of Bundesliga defenses rather than the combative style of the English top flight. Questions about coping with pressure and the English audience’s famous lack of patience must also be asked.
Either way, the new start Sancho desperately craves is here.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Man Utd Confirm Retained List As Big Name Player Is Released on Free.
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This story was originally published June 10, 2026 at 4:10 AM.