JADON SANCHO was benched for Borussia Dortmund’s clash with Barcelona because he was late for a team meeting, according to German reports.
The Englishman has been embroiled in a row with the German club for some time but it appears to have escalated after Dortmund’s Champions League defeat at Barcelona last night.
Jadon Sancho was reportedly benched for Borussia Dortmund’s clash with Barcelona because he was late for a team meetingCredit: Getty – Contributor
When asked after the game why he was dropped, Sancho claimed he was not allowed to speak.
The 19-year-old winger came off the bench to grab a late goal in his side’s 3-1 defeat at the Nou Camp last night.
But Dortmund boss Lucien Favre initially dropped the former Man City player because he was late for a team meeting, according to German outlet Bild.
Incredibly Favre hinted that the winger was “not fully focused” for the game.
But he proved he was anything but as he replaced Nico Schulz at half-time, and netted a brilliant goal in the 77th minute.
Sancho was laid in by Julian Brandt, took a touch to get it out of his feet before slamming the ball past Barca keeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen.
He then went on to hit the bar late on to give a timely reminder to his boss and the club’s supporters of his capabilities following a testing few weeks.
And as he made his way through the mixed zone media area following his exploits against the Catalans, numerous journalists were keen to know the teen’s thoughts on his latest snub.
But the hotshot quickly informed them he was “not allowed to speak” as he headed for the team bus.
Sancho’s demotion to the bench comes as transfer speculation mounts and stories claiming he could be on the move in January will not go away.
Barcelona are even rumoured to be interested.
The Spanish giants are among a host of Europe’s biggest clubs chasing the former Manchester City youth player.
Manchester United, Liverpool and Real Madrid could all be preparing a bid for the 19-year-old.
SunSport recently reported that Sancho could be set to leave Dortmund after being left “humiliated”.
His morale at the Bundesliga club has hit rock-bottom following series of events that has left him feeling victimised.
The first came when the 19-year-old was dropped and fined £86,000 for returning to the club late from international duty.
Dortmund sporting director Michael Zorc said there was “no alternative” but to punish the teenager.
He was also forced to train on his own by running in the “pouring rain”.
The next and most damning embarrassment arrived during Dortmund’s 4-0 thrashing of rivals Bayern Munich.
With the score at 1-0, Sancho was sensationally hooked off after just 36 minutes with manager Lucian Favre confirming it was a tactical decision.
According to the Athletic, the England superstar felt like the club purposely made him a scapegoat and have not offered him any protection from supporters.
Now he will be hoping he has shown Favre enough to be included from the start against Hertha Berlin on Saturday.
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Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
