Erik ten Hag has claimed that Manchester United were having 'issues' with Jadon Sancho before he arrived as manager.
Sancho has been sent on loan to Borussia Dortmund and was unable to reconcile with Ten Hag after publicly branding the Dutchman a liar over criticism of his training performances.
He was signed by United for £73million in 2021 under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, a year before Ten Hag took the Old Trafford hot seat in the summer of 2022.
Ten Hag told Sky Sports: 'He's now at Dortmund. So after he was signed, one year before [I was here], and there were issues. We have had issues all the way through, and so you can make out his stay at Manchester United so far is not a success.
'So now he is going back to Borussia Dortmund, so I wish him the best of luck. I hope, we all hope he is doing well there, he will be successful. Again, we will see what is going to happen.
[Would things be different if he had apologised?] 'We have said that before. And I don't want every time to return to the point. He knows what he should do and we have made that clear.
'It was also so clear and obvious about his performance so let's stop this discussion. He is to Dortmund and we wish him the best of luck.'
Ten Hag was firm in exiling Sancho after his dissenting social media post claiming he was made a scapegoat but always insisted he could come back into the fold if he apologised.
Sancho was forced to train and eat alone and has not played a game for Manchester United since August.
Ironically, Sancho was filmed saying 'sorry' twice after arriving late for his medical check at Dortmund, a detail fans were quick to pick up on.
He got off to a flying start back with the Germans, registering an assist off the bench in a 3-0 win over Darmstadt.
In an oblique swipe at Sancho, Ten Hag said in a separate interview: 'It's not about discipline. It's about normal behaviour. That is what you can expect from a top professional.
'If you want to perform you need hungry players. You need players with personalities and who are hungry to fight for the badge and fight for this club. And they need to do this in a team.'
United have agreed to contribute £100,000 of Sancho's £290,000-per-week wages to smooth the deal financially for Dortmund, his former club. The Red Devils will receive a £3million loan fee plus up to £3.4m in potential bonuses.
Sancho scored 50 goals and registered 64 assists in a golden four-year stint with the German club before moving to United in 2021, also earning the runner-up spot in the Kopa Trophy Golden Boy awards.