Maximillian Wessing, a reporter for the German media newspaper Picture Post, has written an op-ed revealing the inside story between Borussia Dortmund and Sancho.
What Picture Post can reveal is that it’s not just Dortmund fans who want Sancho to return, but Dortmund’s senior management is also considering and planning the possibility of Sancho’s return. Because from Dortmund’s point of view, they thought Sancho might be sent out on loan in the winter window next year, but that plan failed for two reasons.
First: when Sancho was still at Dortmund, his discipline was always a topic of internal discussion. After matches, he was often late for the next day’s training and often left for a day or two on a private jet.
But according to Dortmund executives, the biggest problem remained: the man Sancho was sleep-deprived, as he often spent his evenings playing games on consoles or computers until the early hours of the morning.
This lifestyle is completely out of step with the working class mentality of the Ruhr area and could cause unrest in the team. So far this season, Dortmund doesn’t seem to be solid in the first place.
Secondly: Dortmund have enquired through agents about potential transfer models as well as money. It was clear that Manchester United didn’t just want to loan Sancho out, the traditionally English club insisted on selling him and insisted on a transfer fee of 60 million euros, money that would be absolutely utopian for Dortmund.
Dortmund, not to mention 60 million, still have a question mark over whether they have enough budget to bring in new players in the winter. The initial plan was not to pay any transfer fees for new players after the first half of the season, as the club paid more than 60 million euros in the summer for Enmecha and Sabitzer (29 for Bayern) and Fellkrug (30 for Bremen).
Whether or not they will be forced to buy again depends on the next Bundesliga performance.