'Why is Guardiola letting Sancho go?' - Matthaus was shocked by Dortmund diamond's Man City exit

Lothar Matthaus was stunned by Jadon Sancho's transfer from Manchester City to Borussia Dortmund in 2017, revealing that he couldn't believe Pep Guardiola was offloading an obviously "great player".

Sancho moved to Signal Iduna Park for an initial £8 million ($9.75m), after turning down a contract offer at the Etihad due to an alleged dispute over guaranteed game time.

Guardiola has since claimed that City did everything they could to persuade Sancho to stay but that the winger believed he would be given more first-team opportunities elsewhere.

At the time of his departure, though, Matthaus knew that City were losing an exceptional talent, one that had first caught his eye during an Under-17 European Championship game between England and Norway.

"I was watching in the gym and I stopped the training session to call a friend of mine who works in the sport to ask, 'Who is the English guy on the left-wing?'" he explains.

"My friend told me, 'His name is Sancho and he plays for Manchester City.' I thought ‘Wow! He is a great player and he will have a great career.’ Then, he signed for Dortmund six months later and I was like, 'How could Pep Guardiola let this great player go?'

"I didn’t understand it at the time, as I knew Guardiola had a good eye for young talent. And Sancho had speed, made assists, scored goals and was always running. Sure, he wasn’t working defensively back then but he didn’t need to; a young player is never perfect.

"But I saw the talent in him, so I was happy he went to Dortmund. It has helped him develop. Maybe he will go back to England but I know Dortmund will ask for a lot of money for this diamond.

"He is very good and we like having him here in the Bundesliga. He is one of the best things we have ever got from England! He is a good ambassador for the Bundesliga; he is young and full of confidence.

"He still has a contract and I hope Dortmund do everything they can to keep him in the league for another one or two years."

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Sancho, of course, is still only 20 but is now a full England international, having taken German football by storm over the past couple of seasons.

Indeed, he will be one of the main attractions in this weekend's Revierderby between Dortmund and Schalke, as the Bundesliga makes its eagerly-awaited return following its coronavirus-enforced break.

The fact that the game will be played behind closed doors at Signal Iduna Park makes it difficult to predict the outcome, according to Matthaus, who is also unsure of which side will be in better condition physically after a two-month lay-off.

"From the beginning of March to now, it’s completely different," the former Bayern Munich and Inter midfielder said. "I don’t know who is better prepared, or anything about the condition of the players or the injured players coming back.

"It is a bit of a lottery at the moment but it will be a really big game. It is like Chelsea and Arsenal: a big fight between two teams with a long history and many good players.

"Two years ago, both teams were playing in the Champions League. Sure, Dortmund played well in the last weeks before coronavirus and I think they are the favourites and it’s a home game for them.

"However, is that really in their favour now? Normally, at a Dortmund game, you have the support of 80,000 people behind you. They are the best home team in the Bundesliga but now they have to answer these strange questions: Where are the fans? Where is the atmosphere?

"They have a good team, though, I think they will compete for the championship with Bayern Munich. So, Dortmund is, for me, the favourite against Schalke.”

Of course, while there won't be any fans in the stadium, the eyes of the footballing world will be fixed upon Signal Iduna Park on Saturday, given the Bundesliga is the first of Europe's 'Big Five' leagues to return to action.

Matthaus is, like everyone else, hoping that there are no issues, thus paving the way for other countries to follow Germany's lead in terms of overcoming the obstacles placed in its path by the pandemic.

"It is a special moment for football," the World Cup winner added. "If the Germans can do it well, then everybody can do it. Discipline is very important – not on the field but off it. Everybody has to follow the rules.

"I cannot say how the players are feeling, of course. I never experienced such a situation. I always travelled to the stadium with my team-mates and in the same dressing room as everybody else. Now, everything is different and I am very interested in seeing how they handle this. It is not easy for them.

"Everything has changed from eight weeks ago and the world is looking at us – and not only the football world. Everybody. We can be an example for each sport and for each competition.

"Nobody knows what will happen after these games, but we have done everything possible to make it work.”

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