Manchester United have officially confirmed the departure of Jadon Sancho after deciding against extending his contract at Old Trafford.
The club chose not to activate the additional one-year option in the winger’s £250,000-per-week deal. That decision now allows Sancho to leave as a free agent five years after his £73M arrival from Borussia Dortmund.
United also confirmed in an official statement the departures of Casemiro and Tyrell Malacia as part of the club’s retained and released list.
Sancho arrived at Old Trafford with huge expectations after Manchester United finally secured a deal for one of Europe’s brightest young attackers.
However, his spell at the club quickly became difficult. The winger made 41 appearances during his first season under Erik ten Hag.
However, problems between player and manager later damaged his future at the club completely. In December 2022, Sancho spent time away from the first-team squad.
The situation worsened further the following season after Ten Hag publicly questioned the player’s training performances during a press conference.
Sancho later responded on social media and accused the former United manager of making him a “scapegoat for a long time.”
That disagreement led to Sancho training separately from the squad at Carrington before Manchester United loaned him back to Borussia Dortmund.
The England international later spent time on loan at both Chelsea and Aston Villa. Chelsea previously agreed a deal containing an obligation to buy worth around £20M to £25M.
However, the London club eventually paid a £5M penalty fee instead of completing the permanent transfer.
Despite a promising spell at Aston Villa, Manchester United still decided to end Sancho’s time at the club permanently.
The winger made only 83 appearances for United across five years and last played for the club during the 2024 Community Shield.
INEOS also continue reducing the club’s wage bill ahead of a major rebuild. Sancho ranked among Manchester United’s highest earners alongside Casemiro and Marcus Rashford.
Meanwhile, the club also confirmed a new deal offer for young goalkeeper Dermot Mee.
Manchester United additionally offered professional contracts to academy players Albert Mills and Dante Plunkett.
However, the absence of Godwill Kukonki’s name from the official announcement raised questions surrounding the highly-rated 18-year-old defender’s future.
Want to get the latest transfer news direct to your phone? Join our WhatsApp community by clicking here.
