Jadon Sancho given Sir Alex Ferguson warning as he fights to save Man Utd career

14 September 2023 , 23:00

961     0

Jadon Sancho given Sir Alex Ferguson warning as he fights to save Man Utd career

Jadon Sancho has been told that he'd already be "out" of Manchester United had he ever publicly challenged Sir Alex Ferguson, just like he's done with Erik ten Hag.

Sancho, 23, stunned fans following the Red Devils' bruising 3-1 defeat away to Arsenal nearly a fortnight ago by effectively claiming that his manager had been lying about the reason why he was left out of the squad. Ten Hag said that the £73million winger hadn't been performing at the standards which are expected of a United player in training, only for Sancho to quickly issue a statement on social media and urge supporters 'not to believe everything they read'.

Now, after showdown earlier talks this week failed to find a resolution, Ten Hag has ordered him to train away from the first-team squad. That decision was a show of authority from the Red Devils boss but legendary manager Ferguson wouldn't even be contemplating his return, according to ex-United striker Dimitar Berbatov.

"Players sometimes think they are really important and they can change something when they speak publicly," Berbatov told Betfair. "In reality, they only make the situation worse.

"In this case, I did not like what happened, and Sancho should have gone directly to Erik ten Hag and spoken to him man to man. Things could go either way now.

Marcel Sabitzer completes Man Utd transfer after last-minute deadline day dash

"If the manager likes you as a player, even if you make mistakes along the way, it will be easier for him to forgive you, keep you around and continue to give you another chance.

Jadon Sancho won't feature for Manchester United when they host Brighton on Saturday (Joe Prior/Visionhaus via Getty Images)

Have your say! Should Jadon Sancho play for Manchester United again? Let us know your verdict in the comments section.

"If he doesn't like you, then the situation becomes difficult. You will need to work even harder to get back into the team. Had Jadon Sancho done this when Sir Alex Ferguson was the manager, then he would have been out, because no one is bigger than the team."

Some have criticised Ten Hag for laying bare his reasons for dropping Sancho, but Berbatov believes that the 23-year-old is truly the one at fault for creating what's now become a raging storm. "Ten Hag has the right to speak about why he made certain decisions," the Bulgarian added.

"If Sancho did not train well, then that is why he was out of the team. Sancho should not have gone public on social media and instead should have gone directly to the manager's office, and said that he was giving everything and will do better next time. He should have kept it inside instead of blowing it out of proportion, because now we are speaking about this rather than football."

Nathan Ridley