Jadon Sancho kissed the Borussia Dortmund badge on his first day back at the club and he shouldn’t be surprised to learn that has antagonised Manchester United supporters.
Sancho was given three months off last season and a sympathetic Old Trafford was delighted to see him back, giving him a rousing ovation when he returned against Nottingham Forest on February 1.
Sancho’s name was chanted for the first time as he made an appearance from the bench and his smile was visible from the Stretford End. He applauded each corner of the ground for his warm reception following the full-time whistle and it had clearly meant a lot.
United fans have been desperate for Sancho to succeed and the generous reception he received showed they were behind him after a leave of absence signed off by Erik ten Hag.
The winger spent time away from the squad throughout November and December, while he also took a break from social media and trained individually with coaches in the Netherlands.
Sancho was absent from the winter training camp in Spain and precautions were in place to give him the best chance of returning to a physically and mentally healthy place.
It was hoped Sancho would kick on after his return to action in February, but his end to the season was disappointing and he shrunk against Manchester City in the FA Cup final in June.
Just a few months after that, Sancho extraordinarily took to social media and essentially branded his manager a liar, which led to him being banished from the first-team and staring at the exit door.
Sancho refused to apologise, continued to train on his own and a resolution could not be found, but the January transfer window was his way out and he’s now re-signed for Dortmund. “It’s so nice to be back. Dortmund is like a home to me,” said Sancho during his unveiling in Germany.
Dortmund will pay an initial fee of €3.5m for a loan deal that runs until June 30, 2024 and there is no option to buy included in the agreement, which makes his badge kiss even more bizarre.
Sancho knew exactly what he was doing when kissing the Dortmund badge, going right up the camera. It was tone-deaf and it has annoyed United supporters on social media.
It’s taboo for any loan player to kiss a badge and that’s without the context of Sancho’s departure. His timekeeping has always been a problem, he was given three months off, he refused to apologise like a toddler when falling out with Ten Hag and he continued to receive large wages.
United fans were behind him after a three-month absence and he’s thrown that back in their faces. The kissing of the badge was disrespectful and perhaps the final nail in the coffin.
It’s only natural for Sancho to feel relief at re-signing for Dortmund after being in the cold at Carrington, but he should get his head down and make headlines on the pitch.
Sancho only antagonised a set of fans who have been nothing but supportive when kissing the badge and many felt it signalled the point of no return for him at Old Trafford.
Others may feel the badge kiss is not significant and suggest it was a daft decision that was impulsively made, but Sancho is almost 24 and must be aware of his responsibilities as a player.
There are consequences for actions and Sancho’s relationship with supporters, who rallied around him when he wasn’t in a good place, now might be beyond saving.
That doesn’t mean the fanbase harbours ill will toward Sancho and it’s within everybody’s best interests that he performs well for Dortmund, so he can be sold on a permanent deal in the summer.
But Sancho and United have an unhappy marriage and a divorce is necessary.