Jose Mourinho has blamed Erik ten Hag for Jadon Sancho’s struggles at Manchester United despite insisting the Borussia Dortmund loanee ‘made mistakes’ at Old Trafford.
Sancho’s United career is far from certain after he was frozen out by Erik ten Hag earlier in the season.
The England international refused to apologise for an inflammatory social media post aimed at Ten Hag after being accused of underperforming in training.
Sancho returned to his former club Borussia Dortmund on loan in January and has looked a different player since leaving United, helping the Germans reach the Champions League final.
Mourinho has ‘no doubts’ about Sancho’s talent and largely blames Ten Hag for the 24-year-old’s struggles at Old Trafford.
‘As a player we know his talent,’ Mourinho told TNT Sports before Sancho took part in the Champions League final against Real Madrid. ‘We saw what he can do, there are no doubts about it.
‘What happened at Man United, if I look at my history, sometimes I failed big players, sometimes I couldn’t create the right empathy and I couldn’t understand the player’s DNA.
‘In the majority of times yes, I did it, but in some circumstances I couldn’t. Sometimes I think we need to learn from those experiences and try to understand the nature of players.
‘Sometimes they have the talent but they don’t have the mindset that you want from players.
‘For sure, the kid made mistakes but for sure, also, his manager could not get the best out of it.
‘Normally there’s multiple factors. Looking at myself as coach, I did many, many times get the best out of young players and help them to be what they were in the future. Other times I failed.
‘I think in this case, now for sure they will look at it and try to analyse what happened at United and what he found at Dortmund.’
Mourinho spent two-and-a-half years in charge of Manchester United before losing his job in December 2018. Ten Hag arrived at Old Trafford in April 2022 but could also be sacked this summer, despite lifting the FA Cup last week.
Sancho is dreaming of lifting the Champions League but Borussia Dortmund must overcome 14-time winners Real Madrid to win the competition for the second time.
He is not the only Englishman involved in Saturday’s final at Wembley, with Jude Bellingham starting for Real Madrid following a sensational first season at the Bernabeu.
Bellingham will quickly turn his attentions to the Euros after the Champions League final but Sancho will not be involved after being left out of England boss Gareth Southgate’s provisional squad.
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