It looks like coach Eric Ten Haag has won the chi battle with Jaden Sancho. Sancho, who had been complaining on social media, has taken down all of his posts.
The Telegraph reported on Wednesday that “Sancho has deleted his questionable messages directed at Van Gaal. Sancho’s behavior is seen as a positive development at Manchester United. Until Tuesday, he had posted a message that appeared to snipe at Van Gaal, which has now been deleted.”
Sancho grew up in the Manchester City youth system. The Englishman left for Dortmund, citing homesickness. Since joining Dortmund in 2017, he has developed into a highly touted prospect. He had many offers from big European clubs, but in 2021, he was offered by Manchester United and returned to the Premier League for a transfer fee of €85 million.
He showed flashes of brilliance at Dortmund, scoring 50 goals and providing 54 assists in 137 games. He was considered a good fit for Manchester United, but hasn’t quite lived up to the hype. To date, he has played 82 games and has 12 goals and 6 assists. Since Van Gaal took over, he hasn’t been able to compete for a starting spot.
He has come on as a substitute this season and was left out of the squad for the trip to Arsenal in the fourth round. On Sancho’s omission, Van Gaal said: “I made this decision after watching him in training. He has to show that he is worthy of Manchester United. As a manager, I have the final say in selection. Sancho was not selected.”
In other words, Van Gaal had watched him in training and decided he wasn’t fit enough for the Arsenal game. Sancho, however, refuted this claim, saying that he has always worked hard on the training ground and that he is being treated unfairly.
In fact, on April 4, he took to social media to say, “I don’t want you to believe the articles you are reading. It’s a completely false story. I am a scapegoat. I’ve been treated unfairly for a long time. I’ve been working hard on the training ground all week. I want to play football with a smile on my face. I want to play football with a smile on my face and give my all for Manchester United.”
Of course, this can happen in the professional world. However, if the rift between Mourinho and Van Gaal deepens and becomes irreparable, he could be released. Ten Haag never backs down from a power struggle with a player.
A prime example is Cristiano Ronaldo. Ronaldo rose to the top at Manchester United and became one of the best players of all time at Real Madrid. He broke records with Lionel Messi, especially in the UEFA Champions League 굿모닝토토.
After spells at Real Madrid and Juventus, he joined Manchester United last summer. His arrival at Old Trafford after 12 years was welcomed by United and Premier League fans. He was initially linked to Manchester City but was persuaded by former manager Sir Alex Ferguson to return to his parent club.
His mobility was down, but his goalscoring prowess was not. As the team faltered under interim managers Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Ralph Rangnick, he remained a top-five scorer in the Premier League and the highest scorer in the Manchester United team.
However, he looked to leave the club in the summer after failing to qualify for the Champions League. Van Gaal held onto Ronaldo, but he didn’t join the team on their pre-season tour and training sessions, and he made a counter-offer to the Champions League qualifiers.
As the team’s mood became increasingly clouded, Van Gaal took him out of the equation. He brought in the likes of Marcus Rashford and benched Ronaldo. His playing time plummeted and his attacking points in the Premier League dropped significantly.
Against Tottenham Hotspur, Mourinho’s behavior was detrimental to the team. Manchester United dominated Spurs to secure a 2-0 win, but Ronaldo went straight into the tunnel in the 42nd minute, even though he was still on the bench.
Van Gaal responded by sending Ronaldo down to train with the U-23 team. Unsurprisingly, he was also left out of the squad for the game against Chelsea. He even dropped a bombshell directed at Manchester United. Ronaldo said, “Disrespectful Manchester United betrayed me and turned me into a ‘black sheep’. As manager Van Gaal didn’t respect me, I didn’t respect him,” he said.
In the end, Manchester United decided to release Ronaldo. They announced the farewell during the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar. Ronaldo wanted to stay in Europe, but no team was willing to pay a high price for his declining skills, so he moved to Saudi Arabia, where he has been playing ever since.