Updated: 10 Jun 2026 11:45 BST |
6 min read
Manchester United have published their retained list at the end of the 2025/26 season, with Jadon Sancho a prominent figure in a trio of players signed for €170 million who will leave for nothing this summer.
Sancho, Casemiro and Tyrell Malacia will all leave Man Utd at the end of their contracts, having each had very different experiences with the Red Devils.
In a statement published on United’s official website, the club said: “Everyone at the club would like to thank Casemiro, Tyrell and Jadon for their contributions to Manchester United and wish them the very best of luck for the future.”
The announcement that the trio will depart comes as no shock, and indeed Casemiro had already confirmed his departure from the club at the end of his deal.
But the most remarkable story is perhaps that of Sancho, who remains the fourth most expensive player in the club’s history but will leave without having otherwise made a mark at Old Trafford – something that seemed unthinkable when he arrived in a blaze of glory.
Jadon Sancho: The tale of the tape at Man Utd
Signed in a blockbuster €85 million deal from Borussia Dortmund in 2021, his arrival was supposed to herald the beginning of a new era at Old Trafford but instead stands as a monument to mis-spent funds and failed mega deals.
Across his five years at the club, he managed only 83 appearances across all competitions, meaning that United paid more than €1m each time he appeared on the pitch. And his return was poor, too. In these matches, he offered just 12 goals and six assists.
He put up better figures in his final season in Dortmund alone, scoring 16 and creating 20 more in what was a stellar year that seemed to have set him up for superstardom.
What went wrong for Jadon Sancho?
From the outset, Sancho struggled to impress at Man Utd. An ear infection hampered him upon arrival, hinting at the issues that were to come, and by the time he scored his first Premier League goal in November, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, who had hailed him as “an integral part of the first-team squad for years to come”, had been sacked.
In came Erik ten Hag and things would only get worse, with the pair falling out in September 2023. Sancho posted on social media that he had been made a “scapegoat”, refused to apologise to the Dutchman and was frozen out thereafter before a move on loan to Dortmund. He has not played a Premier League match for United since.
There’s no doubt it was a dark period for the winger, who had previously taken some time away from the game to work on his mental health. Meanwhile, he was dogged with accusations of unprofessionalism, ranging from apparently returning from his summer break overweight to regular late nights playing FIFA that ruined his sleep.
What comes next?
As Sancho enters the free agent market, what his future holds now is unclear.
Man Utd manager Michael Carrick still believes he has the talent to carve a future in the game, explaining before the club’s Premier League clash with Aston Villa in the spring:
“You can never be surprised with anything in football. I think it’s one of those things. Sometimes you come to a club, sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t quite work. That’s natural; it happens at every club.
“Jadon’s got talent, that’s why he came to the club to start with and he’s had some really good moments. For whatever reason, I don’t know, I’ve not been here for a period of time, and he’s ended up finding himself at Aston Villa. He had a good spell at Dortmund as well [in 2023/24], Champions League final, so he’s certainly got talent.
“I think in and around the box, his ball carrying, his little plays, connections, his creativity and around the box… from seeing Jadon close up, technically he’s got an awful lot, an awful lot of ability, and that’s hence the clubs he’s played for on the level that he’s played for.”
At his best, Sancho has the quality to play for any club in the world, but it’s been years since that level has been evident on a regular basis. If he wants to rebuild his career, he needs to do it now, and he needs to find a level of resilience that he has previously never displayed if he is to achieve that.
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