‘I’m back’: Man Utd exile Sancho returns to Dortmund on loan

Disgraced Manchester United striker Jadon Sancho has returned to Borussia Dortmund on loan, it was announced on Thursday.

That of Dortmund transfer announcement as Sancho imitated basketball legend Michael Jordan's famous “I'm back” press release when he returned from Major League Baseball to join the Chicago Bulls in 1995.

– Stream on ESPN+: LaLiga, Bundesliga, more (US)

Sancho signed from Dortmund in a £73 million ($93 million) deal in 2021, but has not played for United since August following a public row with manager Erik ten Hag.

The striker was exiled from the first team for more than four months after publicly challenging Ten Hag's reasoning for dropping him in the 3-1 defeat to Arsenal on September 3.

In a now-deleted post on X, formerly known as Twitter, Sancho said it was “completely false” that he was fired for poor performances in training, as Ten Hag claimed.

Sancho has made 82 appearances for United, scoring 12 goals, and is under contract at Old Trafford until at least 2026.

“When I walked into the dressing room today, I felt like I was 'coming home',” Sancho said in a statement.

“I know the club inside and out, I have always been very close to the supporters here and I have never lost contact with the management.

I can't wait to see my teammates again, go on the pitch, play football with a smile, prepare goals, score goals and participate in the qualification for the Champions League.

Ten Hag previously left the door open for Sancho's return, but insisted he must first apologize.

“It’s about a culture and every player has to meet certain standards and this was about that,” Ten Hag said in December.

“What's going to happen there, he knows what he has to do if he wants to come back and it's up to him. He knows what he has to do, it's up to him. “We'll see what happens . It's an internal matter, we'll see what happens.”

Sancho made 137 appearances for Dortmund between 2017 and 2021 and scored 50 goals.