Jose Mourinho blames Erik ten Hag for failing to 'get the best out of' Jadon Sancho as he explains winger's failure at Man Utd

The tension between Sancho and Ten Hag became evident after the Dutch manager publicly criticised Sancho’s training efforts. Following these remarks, Sancho took to social media to refute his manager’s claims, an act that further soured their relationship. The fallout resulted in Sancho being frozen out of the first-team setup in September after he refused to apologise for his public outburst - before being ultimately shipped out on loan to Borussia Dortmund in January.

Mourinho, a seasoned manager with a wealth of experience, including a tenure at Manchester United, sympathized with Sancho’s situation. In a chat with TNT Sports, Mourinho stated: "As a player, we know his talent. We saw what he could do, there are no doubts about it. What happened at Man United...if I look at my own history, sometimes I failed with players. Sometimes I couldn't create the right empathy, I couldn't understand the player's DNA and I couldn't help players grow up in the right direction. The majority of times, yes, I did it but on some occasions, I couldn't.

"I think sometimes we have to learn with experiences, which I tried always to do, to try to understand the nature of the player. Sometimes they have the talent but don't have the mindset you want from a player. For sure, the kid [Sancho] made mistakes, that's for sure, but for sure his manager was not able to get the best out of him."

When questioned about whether Sancho was let down by United as a whole, Mourinho highlighted that such situations are typically influenced by multiple factors. “Normally, it's multi-factorial. Normally, it's not the manager, the player, the family, the agent, the club,” he noted, suggesting that the blame cannot rest solely on one party.

However, Mourinho reiterated that experienced coaches bear significant responsibility in guiding young players. “But looking at myself as a coach, I did many times get the best out of young players and helped them to be what they were in the future. Other times I failed. For sure, even if it's multi-factorial, we are part of it. For us coaches with more experience and many situations of déjà vu as we get older, we try to help the players in the right direction. I think in this case, they look at it and for sure they try to analyse what happened at Man United and what happened and what he found in Dortmund."

Sancho has undoubtedly redeemed himself at Dortmund and has been a crucial figure in the Black and Yellow's run to the Champions League final. However, it remains to be seen if the German outfit can hold on to him for another season or the forward heads back to Old Trafford at the end of his loan term.