Manchester United’s Jadon Sancho crisis: mental health, disability and relationships
Manchester United have refused to publicly disclose Jadon Sancho’s struggle with mental health issues last season.
In December 2022, manager Erik ten Hag announced at a press conference that Sancho will be unavailable for a while due to “physical and mental” factors while fighting injury.
Following Ten Hag’s statements, Sancho trained alone in the Netherlands with trusted Dutch coaches. However, the Daily Mail revealed that United did not seek permission to publicly reveal Sancho’s state of mind.
In early 2022, Sancho withdrew from social media, sparking speculation about his mental health. He has risen in the public eye as one of the most promising young players in Europe.
‘TEN WITCH SUPPORTED SANCHO’
After returning to the field with United in February, Sancho took to social media again, posting the following:
“Wow! I want to say a huge thank you to everyone, especially the fans, for the support I’ve received over the last few weeks. My goal is to give everything for my team and my club, I’m very happy to be back on the pitch, see you soon “.
Sources close to United insist that Ten Hag, who does not use the term ‘mental health’ in particular, believes in supporting Sancho in the above-mentioned comments and continues to deliver speeches in support of the player in his absence.
WORRIES AGAIN AGAIN
Sancho suffered an injury during the five-month period he was unable to play for United from October.
Erik ten Hag, manager of Manchester United. Photo: Reuters.
But while sources close to Old Trafford think it would be difficult to explain the prolonged absence solely in terms of injury, Ten Hag also believes “physical and mental” conditioning is linked to the need to master both to play elite football.
There was also concern that the lack of an explanation would lead to unnecessary speculation about the reasons for Sancho’s absence.
THE CRISIS EXPLODED BEFORE THE ARSENAL MATCH
Sancho and Ten Hag’s relationship is back in the spotlight this week.
Ten Hag said Sancho was dropped from the matchday squad after Sunday’s loss to Arsenal because the winger did not train well before the game. Sancho called these claims “completely false” on social media.
“I HAVE BEEN ANNOUNCED THE scapegoat”
Sancho responded on his social media account that same afternoon:
“Please don’t believe everything you read! I’m not going to let people say things that are completely untrue. I have behaved very well in training this week. I think there are other reasons for this problem, but I won’t go into that, I’ve been the scapegoat for a long time and it’s just not fair!