Jose Mourinho attributed Erik ten Hag’s inability to maximize Jadon Sancho’s potential at Manchester United to the latter’s management.
The discord between Sancho and Ten Hag surfaced when the Dutch coach openly criticized Sancho’s approach to training.
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In response, Sancho turned to social media to challenge his manager’s assertions, exacerbating the rift between them.
This disagreement led to Sancho’s exclusion from the main squad in September, following his refusal to retract his public statements, culminating in a loan move to Borussia Dortmund in January.
Mourinho, who has extensive managerial experience, including a stint at Manchester United, expressed empathy towards Sancho’s predicament.
In a chat with TNT Sports, Mourinho stated: “As a player, we know his talent. We saw what he could do, there are no doubts about it. What happened at Man United…if I look at my own history, sometimes I failed with players.
“Sometimes I couldn’t create the right empathy, I couldn’t understand the player’s DNA and I couldn’t help players grow up in the right direction. The majority of times, yes, I did it but on some occasions, I couldn’t.
“I think sometimes we have to learn with experiences, which I tried always to do, to try to understand the nature of the player.
“Sometimes they have the talent but don’t have the mindset you want from a player. For sure, the kid [Sancho] made mistakes, that’s for sure, but for sure his manager was not able to get the best out of him.”
When questioned about whether Sancho was let down by Man United as a whole, Mourinho highlighted that such situations are influenced by multiple factors.
“Normally, it’s multi-factorial. Normally, it’s not the manager, the player, the family, the agent, the club,” he noted, suggesting that the blame cannot rest solely on one party.
But, Mourinho reiterated that experienced coaches bear huge responsibility in guiding young players. “But looking at myself as a coach, I did many times get the best out of young players and helped them to be what they were in the future.
“Other times I failed. For sure, even if it’s multi-factorial, we are part of it. For us coaches with more experience and many situations of déjà vu as we get older, we try to help the players in the right direction.
“I think in this case, they look at it and for sure they try to analyse what happened at Man United and what happened and what he found in Dortmund.”
Sancho has certainly made a remarkable comeback at Dortmund, playing a pivotal role in their journey to the Champions League final.
The question now is whether Dortmund will be able to retain him for another season, or if the forward will return to Old Trafford once his loan period concludes.
