Former Manchester United midfielder Nemanja Matic has said Jadon Sancho, Paul Pogba, and a couple of other players were always late to training sessions.
Former Borussia Dortmund forward Sancho joined Manchester United with a big reputation in the summer of 2021. However, he never looked to be on the same wavelength as his teammates, which kept him from proving his worth in the 2021-22 and 2022-23 season. In September 2023, Sanchp publicly fell out with Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag after the coach dropped him from his squad for the 3-1 defeat to Arsenal.
The Englishman has since been banished from the first-team squad altogether and is likely to leave the club in January.
Matic Sheds Light On Sancho’s Alleged Punctuality Problem At Manchester United
Former Chelsea midfielder Matic was at Manchester United between 2017 and 2022, meaning he watched Sancho’s debut season from close quarters. According to the midfielder, the England international, alongside Pogba, was always late to training sessions, which their punctual peers, including Matic, quite angry.
In an interview with YuPlanet, Matic criticized the standards at Old Trafford, saying (via Manchester Evening News):
“At Chelsea, players acted professionally, they were punctual and were never late for training but at United, it happened almost every day.
“Among the players who would always be late were Paul Pogba and Jadon Sancho and couple of other players. The rest of us who were always on time were angry so we decided to form a kind of an internal disciplinary committee with me serving as its president.”
As per Matic, such was the tardiness of offenders that the self-appointed disciplinary committee once collected £75,000 in fines.
The Serbian added:
“I put a sheet of paper up on the wall where I documented the names of individuals arriving late. During one particular season, we collected around £75,000 in fines. We had planned to use the money to throw a party in London but we didn’t due to the Covid outbreak.”
Matic’s Statement Backs Up Ten Hag’s Harsh Call
In September 2023, Ten Hag cited Sancho’s sub-par performance in training as the reason for his omission from the squad against Arsenal. The 23-year-old did not agree and went on to call his coach a “liar” on social media.
It has been claimed that a heartfelt apology from Sancho could have compelled Ten Hag to reverse his decision. But the player refused to change his stance.
A section of pundits has shown support for Sancho following his omission from the first team, accusing Ten Hag of being too harsh on the youngster. Matic has now indirectly thrown his weight behind the Dutch coach with his statement outlining Sancho’s tardiness.
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