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Manchester United assistant coach Benni McCarthy shed some light on why Jadon Sancho refused to apologize to Erik ten Hag after the Englishman had a falling out with the manager. The forward's relationship with the Red Devils boss worsened after the Dutchman publicly criticized Sancho's efforts in training.
Jadon Sancho was then eliminated from the first-team squad and relegated to training with the academy players. He publicly claimed that he was unfairly treated by the manager, who supported underperforming players ahead of him.
The comments were not well received by Erik ten Hag and Jadon Sancho was sent out on loan to his former club Borussia Dortmund in January 2024 for the rest of the 2023-2024 season.
Benni McCarthy opened up about the incident and explained why the English forward did not apologize to the Manchester United manager. In an interview with 947 Joburg, McCarthy said:
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"I spoke to the manager and I said to him that you know the delicacy and I think Jadon feels that if he apologizes, then he's going to be classed as someone who doesn't train hard, that doesn't work hard, who that everything that was said against him was true.
"And if you are from the streets, no one wants to apologize, you admit you are not training well, you are lazy, everything you are accused of. Jadon wasn’t going to have that. The manager just said that all he wants is an apology."
Acknowledging Sancho's side of the story, Benni McCarthy added:
"I spoke to Jadon as a coach, as a mentor, as a friend, and as someone who grew up on the streets and knows the code. But Jadon just wasn’t seeing it. He said, 'I ain’t apologizing because if I do, I’m apologizing for being lazy, always being late, not giving my best. That’s what I’m apologizing for,' and those were his reasons."
Sancho joined Manchester United in 2021 after featuring for Borussia Dortmund for four seasons. He has scored three goals and provided three assists in 20 matches for the Bundesliga side this season. Overall, he has netted 53 goals and provided 67 assists in 157 appearances for Dortmund.
Jadon Sancho scored 12 goals and provided six assists in 82 appearances across all competitions during his time at Manchester United.
Manchester United boss comments on Jadon Sancho’s UCL performances
The Manchester United manager spoke about Jadon Sancho's performance for Borussia Dortmund against Paris Saint-Germain in the first leg of the semi-final of the UEFA Champions League on May 1, 2024.
Although the Red Devils' loanee did not make a goal contribution, Sancho put in an excellent performance and became the first player since Lionel Messi in 2008 (against United) to register 12 tackles in a Champions game.
Addressing the English forward's performance, Ten Hag said (via Fabrizio Romano):
"Jadon played very good, he showed why Manchester United bought him and he showed he represents a high value for the club. Which is good. I'm happy for Jadon, for his performance yesterday and we'll see what is going to happen in the future."
Borussia Dortmund advanced to the UEFA Champions League final after defeating Paris Saint-Germain 2-0 on aggregate in the semis. The Bundesliga club is set to face Real Madrid in the final on June 1 at Wembley Stadium.
