Manchester United ruined Jadon Sancho’s love for football as free agent mulls over next move

Troy Deeney has questioned whether Jadon Sancho ‘can live with his life choices’ as the ex-Manchester United winger faces an uncertain future.

Sancho‘s nightmare spell with the Red Devils came to an end after the expiry of his contract in June, and he has recently been linked with a surprise move to Qatari side Al Rayyan.

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According to talkSPORT’s Ben Jacobs, the Qatar Stars League side made an initial enquiry on the 26-year-old around three weeks ago.

This is as far as discussions have gone though, with no talks understood to have taken place since then.

Al Rayyan are not expected to follow up with further talks, and Sancho is said to be exploring all options.

Jacobs reports that the 23-cap England international, who spent last season on loan at Aston Villa, is considering moves in both the Middle East and Europe.

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Regrets?

Wherever he goes next, Sancho will be looking to revive his career after a turbulent five years since his arrival at United.

He joined the Red Devils from Borussia Dortmund for £73million in 2021, but struggled to make an impact at Old Trafford and clashed with head coach Erik ten Hag, who banished him from first team training at the start of the 2023/24 season.

The winger proceeded to head out on a number of loans, including Borussia Dortmund, Chelsea and Aston Villa, with the Blues passing up on the option to sign him permanently for £25m last summer.

With Sancho now looking to start afresh, Watford cult hero Troy Deeney has questioned his motivations going forward, claiming the Englishman could have major regrets over his time at United.

Speaking on talkSPORT Breakfast show, he said: “I do wonder whether Jadon can live with his life choices long-term.

“What I mean by that is, I think the lads who can retire knowing they gave everything, and father time caught up or injury or whatever happened, they go, ‘OK, I can live with that because I gave everything.’

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“I think when you’ve got the talent he’s had, had the moves and the opportunities, the chances that he’s had [you may have regrets].

“I do think the Man United spell seems to have maybe dampened his love for football.”

Cash grab?

Overall in his Old Trafford career, Sancho made 83 appearances for United, scoring 12 goals and providing six assists.

His loan spells away brought some success, having won the Conference League with Chelsea and last season’s Europa League at Villa, although neither led to a permanent move.

And Deeney claimed the disappointing United spell may have prompted Sancho to rethink his career aims, with the potential to seal a lucrative pay day in the Middle East.

He continued: “Ten Hag stuck him with the Under-21s for a period of time.

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“Then he went to Chelsea and won, and then he went with Villa and won, but neither of them have tried to keep him. 

“So I just wonder whether he’s now [like], ‘It’s bit of a cash grab, and [I’ll] just get as much money as I can out of it.'”

Sancho made 39 appearances across all competitions for Villa in the 2025/25 season, but just 18 of them were starts.

He ended the campaign with just one goal and three assists for the club, and made a nine-minute cameo in the Villans’ Europa League final victory over Freiburg.

His time in English football has failed to live up to the hype of his early career, having earned a reputation as one of football’s greatest young prospects while at Borussia Dortmund.

The then-teenager lit up the Bundesliga between 2017 and 2021, scoring 54 goals and creating 45 assists in 188 matches.