Jose Mourinho blames Erik ten Hag for Jadon Sancho’s Manchester United failure

Mourinho was speaking at the Champions League final between Real Madrid and Borussia Dortmund at Wembley Stadium

Jack Rathborn
Saturday 01 June 2024 14:49 EDT
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Jose Mourinho has claimed Erik ten Hag must accept some of the blame for Jadon Sancho’s failure at Manchester United.

Sancho struggled at Old Trafford following a £73m move from Dortmund, but a loan back to his former club has seen him recapture some of his best form, with Ten Hag adamant he still has “high value”.

And with Sancho set to feature in the Uefa Champions League final at Wembley against Real Madrid, Mourinho has discussed what went wrong at Old Trafford.

“For sure, the kid made mistakes, but for sure, also his manager was not able to get the best out of him,” Mourinho told TNT Sports at Wembley Stadium.

“As a player we know his talent, we know what he can do, there are no doubts about it.

“If I look to my own history, sometimes I failed with players. Sometimes I couldn’t understand the player’s DNA, and I couldn’t help players grow in the right direction.

“Sometimes they have the talent but they don’t have the mindset that you want.

Mourinho was then pushed further over whether United had failed Sancho.

Jose Mourinho offering punditry for TNT Sports
Jose Mourinho offering punditry for TNT Sports (Mike Egerton/PA Wire)

“Normally, it’s multifactorial, it [could be] the manager, the player, the family, the agent, the club,” Mourinho added.

“They’ll look at it and try to analyse what happened at Man United, and what he found in Dortmund.”

Sancho’s loan at Dortmund could make United up to €7.5m, one of the most expensive signings in their history has played 77 minutes of football for them this season and United could face writing off much of their high investment.

Ten Hag praised Sancho’s performance against Paris Saint-Germain in the semi-finals: “He played well and he is a very good player.

“Yesterday he showed why Manchester United bought him and he showed he represents a high value for Manchester United, which is good. I’m happy for Jadon, for the performance yesterday and we’ll see what is going to happen in the future.”

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