Borussia Dortmund have confirmed that Jadon Sancho has completed his return to the club on loan from Manchester United for the remainder of the 2023-24 season, and the way they did it will be familiar to fans of the NBA's Chicago Bulls .
After becoming one of Europe's most sought-after young players during his four excellent years at Dortmund, Sancho left the Bundesliga club to join United in the summer of 2021 in a huge £73 million transfer. However, the winger's career at Old Trafford never took off, he has not played since August and was completely excluded from the first team after a falling out with manager Erik ten Hag.
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Despite Sancho's high-profile fall, Dortmund decided to extremely boldly announce the 23-year-old's return to Signal Iduna Park. The club issued a two-word statement from Sancho, echoing one made by superstar Michael Jordan when he returned to the Bulls in 1995 after reversing his unfortunate decision to retire from basketball to pursue a career in baseball.
The German side broke the news with a mock-up of a statement by “Michael Jadon”, who informed the world: “I'm back.”
Michael Jadon. pic.twitter.com/Jp1xXUG4wX
– Borussia Dortmund (@BlackYellow) January 11, 2024
Given that Sancho scored 12 goals and provided just six assists in 82 games for United, and hasn't played in several months, you simply have to admire both the player and Dortmund's social media team for the sheer audacity of the move.
When Jordan returned to the Bulls nearly three decades ago, he led the team to a streak of three consecutive NBA championships, matching the feat they accomplished in the years before his surprising retirement.
No pressure, Jadon.
The ironic two-word quote is reminiscent of the statement issued by Zlatan Ibrahimovic following his transfer to LA Galaxy in 2018.
The Swedish forward, who never underestimates his own importance, took out a full-page ad in the Los Angeles Times to welcome himself to MLS.
HE IS HERE! 💙 pic.twitter.com/JuZEtzTWbv
– Manchester City (@ManCity) June 13, 2022
Manchester City also limited themselves to just two words when they signed Erling Haaland from Dortmund in June 2022.
The giants of the Premier League he simply informed the fans “he is here” along with a cheeky wink from the Norwegian striker.
My fans, my team, MY HOUSE! @atleti 🔴⚪🔴
Month supporters, mon équipe, MA MAISON! @AtletiFR 🔴⚪🔴
My fans, my team, MY HOUSE!!! @athletienglish 🔴⚪🔴 pic.twitter.com/ByD8Cju5Yb
— Antoine Griezmann (@AntoGriezmann) June 14, 2018
Footballers following the example of NBA stars has also proven counterproductive in the past. Who can forget the LeBron James-inspired mini-documentary commissioned by Atlético Madrid star Antoine Griezmann when speculation about a possible move to Barcelona began to accelerate in the summer of 2018?
France striker produced a short film that showed him openly discussing his future with friends and family members only to come to the big reveal that he had decided to stay at Atleti with the message: “My fans, my team, MY HOUSE!!!”
Several months later came a second announcement from Griezmann that he had changed his mind and now intended to leave the club and, sure enough, the huge €120 million transfer to Barça soon materialized.
