I know you are all ready to disagree, fervently, with this. But let’s just try to approach the topic with an open mind.
Many of you have already judged Jadon Sancho and have very little sympathy, if any at all, for the position he finds himself in.
Manchester United supporters have reacted angrily to Sancho’s decision to turn down the chance to end his Old Trafford nightmare and secure a £20m move to Roma, with sources telling The i Paper Sancho wants to “keep his options open” before the transfer window closes in two weeks.
Some are incredulous. Why is a player who was so desperate to leave not just getting out of here? Why is he denying United vital transfer funds to use elsewhere? Or words to that effect.
Without knowing Sancho’s reasons for the Roma rebuttal, it does seem like an odd decision on the face of it. Finally, the opportunity to secure an exit from a place where the relationship between player and club is way beyond the point of no return, to sign for an Italian giant, at a crucial juncture in a career that is fast being laid to waste.
Jadon Sancho career timeline
2015 – Joins Man City’s academy
2017 – Moves to Borussia Dortmund
2018 – Makes his senior England debut
2021 – Man Utd sign Sancho in a £73m deal
2024 – Loaned back to Dortmund in January
2024 – Joins Chelsea on a season-long loan
2025 – Chelsea back out of obligation to buy
The answer was still no. Sancho is well within his rights to accept and decline offers. A better move may materialise, with one source claiming a Premier League club are still considering making an offer.
Whatever the reasons, the vilification of him is getting to a level where the human is being forgotten.
He is also, perhaps through his own poor decisions, coming close to being erased from memory. And that is rather concerning.
This week, Sancho deleted all pictures from his Instagram account that showed him playing football, leaving four posts, some containing numerous photographs. In all of them he is alone.
This comes after United’s first matchday programme for the season curtain raiser against Arsenal had Sancho’s name at the bottom, without a shirt number next to it.
WROCLAW, POLAND - MAY 28: Noni Madueke and Jadon Sancho of Chelsea pose for a photo while wearing their winners medals after the UEFA Conference League Final 2025 between Real Betis Balompie and Chelsea FC at Stadion Wroclaw on May 28, 2025 in Wroclaw, Poland. (Photo by Aitor Alcalde - UEFA/UEFA via Getty Images)
Sancho won the Conference League at Chelsea (Photo: Getty)
The 25-year-old does have a spot in the new, lavish changing rooms at United’s Carrington training base, but right on the end and probably not accidentally, by the door.
I know those of you I haven’t lost already are screaming about how much Sancho earns. But does money justify abuse? And it is his fault United offered him such a ludicrous salary?
Handed the same opportunity, we would all behave like an angel, I’m sure. What 20-something hasn’t made bad life choices? And that’s without a £250,000-a-week salary.
Does Sancho owe it to United to just take up the first offer that comes his way? He has, after all, been sent out on loan twice, been forced to train with academy kids and not played for the first team for two years.
That Sancho has already had time away from the game to focus on his mental health – something United commendably facilitated in early 2023 – is a good thing.
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He is said to spend a lot of time on his own playing computer games. That is not uncommon.
One previous study found several elite-level players were staying up until the early hours every night, even before big matches, playing immersive games such as Call of Duty and Fortnite. In one case, an unnamed player was said to regularly urinate in a bin to avoid getting up.
While it doesn’t exactly elicit sympathy, spending so much time in another, virtual world is perhaps a sign he does not like how things are going in this one.
It is understandable that United have washed their hands of him. Sancho has, without doubt, spurned all his chances there, but the rest of football and society need not do the same.
He may be a spoiled kid who plays too many computer games, but many of us know figures like this in the real world – are they abused for their life choices?
The next two weeks are crucial for Sancho’s footballing career and perhaps his own mental wellbeing. He has remained a fiercely private person in all of this – so let’s just leave him to decide his own future, even if it costs a global behemoth like United a few million quid.