Rio Ferdinand and Owen Hargreaves asked why Jadon Sancho struggled at Manchester United after an excellent performance for Borussia Dortmund against Paris Saint-Germain.
Niclas Fullkrug’s goal was the difference at Signal Iduna Park on Wednesday night in the first leg of the Champions League semi-final and Dortmund will take a 1-0 lead at the Parc des Princes next week .
Sancho was a constant thorn for PSG and He looked like a completely different player to the one who returned to Germany on loan in January after being exiled from United’s first team following a high-profile dispute with Erik ten Hag.
Speaking on TNT after the match, Ferdinand and Hargreaves agreed that the change of environment following his return to Dortmund had reinvigorated the 24-year-old.
‘I want to know what happened at Man United. Why didn’t it go well there?’ said Ferdinand.
Jadon Sancho had a magnificent performance in Borussia Dortmund’s 1-0 victory over PSG in the first leg of the Champions League semi-finals at Signal Iduna Park.
Rio Ferdinand (left) and Owen Hargreaves (right) questioned why Sancho never showed this kind of form for Manchester United.
‘Is it time to play or did he not put in the proper effort at Manchester United? Was he discouraged because he didn’t have playing time?
‘Was it the size of the club, the weight of the shirt? Is it the club? Is it the coach’s fault for not getting the best out of him?
Hargreaves replied: “It’s all there is, it’s all those things.” It’s the environment.
‘(Tonight) I knew from the first touch that I was going to have a game like that, because I had a little bit of arrogance, didn’t I?
And that’s when I think Jadon is at his best, he’s got a little bit of a swagger. At United, he was safe and played as a full-back, right?
Ferdinand added: “That’s the frustration it used to be at Man United.” He’s not doing that.
Sancho was a constant thorn for PSG during the 90 minutes on Wednesday night
The 24-year-old continued to make defenders miss and showed an arrogance that seemed lost.
‘That’s the physical aspect of the Premier League, was that a problem? I don’t know. But there are so many different things that you look at and say: What could it be? Only Jadon can tell us that.
“But at the same time, if you look at the way he played in the Champions League semi-final, you can’t devalue that.”
Sancho emerged as one of European football’s brightest talents in his first spell at Dortmund, before joining United for £73million in the summer of 2021.
But he never lived up to expectations at Old Trafford, scoring just 12 goals in 82 appearances in all competitions.
In September, Sancho was exiled from United’s first team following a public dispute with ten Hag following United’s 3–1 defeat against Arsenal.
Ten Hag stated in his post-match press conference that he had left Sancho out of United’s squad for the trip to the Emirates “due to his performances in training”.
Sancho played just three games for United this season before a public row with Erik ten Hag.
The Dutchman banished Sancho to train alone after the winger accused him of lying
This sparked a furious response from the England international, who effectively called his manager a liar while dismissing the claims as “completely false” and insisting he had been made a “scapegoat” in a lengthy social media post.
Sancho was subsequently forced to train alone and banned from using first-team facilities, before eventually returning to Dortmund on loan in January.
While he failed to reach the heights of his first spell in the Bundesliga, Sancho has looked increasingly composed following his return to Germany, contributing three goals and two assists in 17 appearances in all competitions.
His 12 dribbles completed on Wednesday night were the most in a Champions League semi-final since Leo Messi at the same stage of the competition against United in 2008.
“It’s just putting people down,” Ferdinand said.
‘He’s making people dance. But it was a joke what she had done today, and we probably haven’t seen this since she was in Dortmund (for the first time).
Hargreaves was equally impressed.
“At United, we didn’t really see him engaging people,” he said.
“Jadon just answered a lot of questions today (…) You could criticize him for not being consistent, but today he outperformed all the players on that field.”
While it remains to be seen whether Sancho will have a future at Old Trafford under the new INEOS regime, both Ferdinand and Hargreaves agreed that his performances in the Champions League were good news for United.
For him, but also for Manchester United, there is a plus point tonight.
“The value has gone back up because I think most teams are probably looking to loan him out or steal him for a very, very cheap (fee).”
“I think teams will look at that performance now and say, ‘If I can get close to that on a consistent basis, I’ll have some of that.’
When asked if Sancho’s price could increase after his performance against PSG, Hargreaves replied: “Definitely. Because people weren’t really sure. You know what’s going to happen is they’re going to sell you. Are they going to loan him out?”
“I get to see (his talent) again, which is super exciting because he’s been through a tough time.”
