Outcasts of red Manchester. Four players who left the team under strange circumstances
Sancho next?
Jadon Sancho's time at Manchester United has taken a turn for the worse. The winger was left out of the matchday squad against Arsenal by manager Erik ten Hag, reportedly due to poor training standards. Sancho reacted angrily on social media, claiming he was being made a "scapegoat" before deleting the post.
This outburst did not go down well with the club, who confirmed Sancho would train alone until the situation was resolved. It now seems inevitable Sancho's United career is coming to an end, either in January or next summer.
He would not be the first player to depart Old Trafford in acrimonious circumstances. We look back at some other big names who left United on bad terms. You can bet on world or regional competitions thanks to mosbet yukle at any convenient moment.
Angel Di Maria
Angel Di Maria arrived at Manchester United in 2014 with huge expectations after a club-record transfer from Real Madrid. But the mercurial Argentinian attacker failed to settle at Old Trafford and had an acrimonious departure after just one season.
Despite chipping in with 5 goals and 10 assists, Di Maria was unhappy under manager Louis van Gaal. He even skipped United's pre-season tour to the USA without explanation before sealing a move to PSG in 2015.
Di Maria has since opened up on his fraught relationship with Van Gaal, saying in 2021: «He was the worst coach of my career. I would score, assist, and the next day he would show me my misplaced passes».
The Argentine also admitted he had little regard for the prestigious number 7 shirt, saying: «At first they talked to me a lot about it, it was just a shirt».
Di Maria remains unpopular with United fans following his abrupt Old Trafford exit. But he is not the most disliked Argentine in the club's history – that dubious honor still belongs to Carlos Tevez for his controversial move to Manchester City.
Carlos Tevez
Carlos Tevez formed a lethal attacking trio alongside Wayne Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo during his time at Manchester United. But the Argentine striker burned his bridges with the Old Trafford faithful when he made the incendiary move to cross-city rivals Manchester City in 2009.
Tevez had been on a two-year loan deal from West Ham United, which United opted to make permanent. However, to the club's shock, Tevez rejected their contract offer. He did claim out of "respect" he would not join Liverpool either.
That respect quickly evaporated when Tevez sensationally joined Man City instead, becoming the first player to transfer directly between the Manchester giants in over 7 years.
United fans viewed it as the ultimate betrayal. Tevez had said all the right things about not joining their bitter local rivals, only to break that promise in sensational fashion.
There's no denying Tevez was a superb player capable of moments of magic on the pitch. But controversy seemed to follow the temperamental striker wherever he went during his up-and-down career. His acrimonious Man United exit was merely one chapter in an eventful story.
David Beckham
David Beckham reached global superstardom playing under Sir Alex Ferguson at Manchester United. But his time at Old Trafford ended in acrimony following a notorious dressing room incident with the legendary manager.
After falling out of favor and losing his starting spot, tensions boiled over when Ferguson infamously kicked a boot in the changing room that struck Beckham above the eye.
This was the beginning of the end for Becks at United. Ferguson felt the English midfielder's celebrity profile had become bigger than the club itself. With Real Madrid showing interest, Ferguson was happy to sell the player he believed was putting fame before the team.
Relations between Ferguson and Beckham were badly strained by the end. Despite his brilliance on the pitch, Ferguson refused to tolerate any player becoming more important than the club's interests.
Beckham's departure showed that no matter your profile or talent, you either conformed to Ferguson's philosophy at United or you were gone. Several other great players also left Old Trafford in acrimonious circumstances under Ferguson's uncompromising leadership style.
Cristiano Ronaldo
Cristiano Ronaldo will go down as one of Manchester United's greatest ever players from his first spell at the club. However, his romantic return to Old Trafford quickly turned sour during his ill-fated second stint.
Ronaldo scored plenty in his first season back, but cracks soon emerged in year two under new manager Erik ten Hag. Problems surfaced early when Ronaldo left a preseason friendly before full-time, irking Ten Hag.
Tensions reached a breaking point when Ronaldo refused to come on as a substitute against Tottenham, leading to his suspension. The final nail in the coffin was an explosive TV interview with Piers Morgan in which Ronaldo claimed he felt "betrayed" and said he had no respect for Ten Hag.
«I don't have respect for him [Ten Hag] because he doesn't show respect for me. If you don't have respect for me, I'm never gonna have respect for you», Ronaldo fumed.
Ronaldo's second United chapter ended messily, in stark contrast to the glory years of his first stay. His incendiary actions off the pitch ultimately made his position at the club untenable again.
It was an unfortunate end for United's prodigal son, whose conflicts with the manager meant his hero status couldn't prevent another acrimonious exit.