Can Sancho win the Ballon d'Or in the future? Manchester United’s £73 million investment may go to waste, and next year they might have to let him leave for free.

Many Manchester United fans might have forgotten that Sancho is still officially a club player. The Red Devils had hoped to sever ties with him by now, but unfortunately, the English winger refused a permanent move to Roma during the summer transfer window and was only loaned out to Aston Villa at the last moment. There were even rumors that United planned to activate a one-year contract extension option to sell him next year.

Manchester United must be relieved they didn’t go through with that plan, as Sancho’s development at Villa Park has been disappointing. Sir Jim Ratcliffe and Ineos have likely ruled out any thoughts of renewing and selling him again, otherwise they might have had to keep him for another year.

Sancho’s stats at Villa have been poor: he started only once in the League Cup for Villa, which ended in a penalty shootout loss to Brentford; he played 32 minutes in the Europa League win over Bologna but was described as “frustrating”; in the Premier League, he appeared just 8 minutes as a substitute in the match against Sunderland.

The 25-year-old Sancho recently started again for Villa this week with a decent performance, but the team lost 1-2 to Dutch club FC Groningen in the Europa League. According to British media, Sancho missed two matches before the international break due to an undisclosed illness. Emery announced last week that Sancho had returned to training, but he did not play in the match against Tottenham, remaining on the bench for the full 90 minutes. This week, Villa will face Manchester City in the Premier League, Sancho’s parent club, but whether he will appear again in the Premier League remains uncertain.

Since 2023, Sancho has not played a single Premier League game for Manchester United and is now on his third loan away from the club. This summer, he was assigned separate training by Ruben Amorim and labeled among the “five rats” in the dressing room. Moreover, he may become one of two players who bring no transfer fee return to the club.

Manchester United spent £73 million to sign him from Dortmund, and that money looks set to be completely wasted, with no transfer fee recouped.

The only exception is Chelsea, who decided to pay Manchester United £5 million in compensation this summer to avoid having to take Sancho on. So, he did bring some money back to United, leaving the club with a net loss of £68 million.

In this regard, Sancho falls far short compared to Rashford, who once rallied for his “freedom.” The 27-year-old Rashford has performed well on loan at Barcelona, potentially earning Manchester United a pure profit of €30 million next year. Barcelona might even opt to buy him outright in January, while United may have to wait for Sancho’s contract to expire before letting him go.

Ideally, Manchester United would want Sancho to perform brilliantly at Villa so that the club would be willing to pay a small fee to sign him permanently in January. So far, that hasn’t happened; Sancho has appeared only once in the Premier League, playing 8 minutes as a substitute, and no one is considering signing him in the winter window.

Transfer expert Graeme Bailey said, “Manchester United are worried about Sancho’s situation. They don’t want him to regain form and return to Old Trafford—far from it. But for a player who cost over £70 million, any chance to recover some money is naturally welcome, though it seems more unlikely than ever.”

Regarding United’s plans, Bailey explained, “In United’s ideal scenario, Sancho would consistently perform well and impress enough for the club to decide whether to activate the extension option and try to sell him, possibly even in January to make a profit. Sancho clearly still has a chance to regain form, and internally, United hope he does, so they have options. They will keep monitoring his situation, but hopes are slim.”

According to former Dortmund coach Terzic, Sancho still has a chance to win the Ballon d’Or in the future! “Haaland, Bellingham, and even Sancho—all these players have the potential to win the Ballon d’Or down the line. In terms of talent, if you discuss Sancho, it might be like how people viewed Dembélé five years ago. He has disciplinary issues too, but this year PSG won the Ballon d’Or. I’m speaking from the perspective of talent and potential. The key is, if Haaland maintains his hunger for success, he will reach that level; Sancho needs to stay positive and optimistic to reach the same heights; and Bellingham needs to do both. When I coached, on the pitch I tried to embrace Sancho’s pure, childlike spirit, and off the pitch, I encouraged him to show the maturity and steadiness expected of a professional athlete.”