After being left off the matchday roster for Manchester United's 3-1 loss to Arsenal, England forward Jadon Sancho hit back at manager Ten Hag.
In United's first three games of the year, the 23-year-old has played just 76 of a potential 270 minutes, all as a substitute.
Ten Hag was asked why the 23-year-old wasn't selected for the team after the game.
“Jadon, on his performances in training we did not select him,” the United boss said after the defeat.
“You have to reach a level every day at Manchester United, and we can make choices in the front line. So for this game, he was not selected.”
Sancho, meanwhile, fired out at the former Ajax manager without delay. He wrote the following in a post on his X account:
“Please don’t believe everything you read! I will not allow people saying things that is completely untrue, I have conducted myself in training very well this week.
“I believe there are other reasons for this matter that I won’t go into, l’ve been a scapegoat for a long time which isn’t fair! “All I want to do is play football with a smile on my face and contribute to my team.
“I respect all decisions that are made by the coaching staff, I play with fantastic players and (am) grateful to do so which I know every week is a challenge.
“I will continue to fight for this badge no matter what!”
Rio Ferdinand, a club veteran, responded to the development by telling Sancho to either wait on the bench or join the Saudi League during a Vibe with Five interviews.
“There’s no way Jadon is putting out a statement like that if he hasn’t in his own eyes performed well.
“That’s the difference as well. On his chart, Jadon [might think] – ‘I’ve trained alright’, but the manager might have a different standard. There are two ways this ends.
“There’s only one window open now and that’s Saudi. Or you’re on the bench or not getting in the squad for the rest of the season.”
