Man Utd eye Sancho’s ‘gentleman’s agreement’ after vow cost them Ronaldo

Borussia Dortmund's Jadon Sancho could still be on his way to Manchester United following an admission by the German club's chief.

The winger was heavily linked with a move to Old Trafford last summer but the two clubs could not come to an agreement.

Sancho is thought to be keen on a return to Manchester having previously played on the blue half of the city as a youngster.

United will have to stump up a mammoth fee to prise him away from Dortmund, but the club's sporting director Michael Zorc has said there is a "gentleman's agreement" regarding his departure.

Last summer the transfer didn't happen because "the requirements were not met" according to Zorc, but the door looks like it remains open.

"We already had a gentlemen's agreement with Jadon last year that he can switch under certain conditions," he told ARD .

"He's been with us for a couple of years. However, this agreement does not exist with Erling."

United could therefore benefit from the agreement that appears to be in place between Sancho and the Bundesliga outfit.

That same agreement was honoured by Sir Alex Ferguson back in 2009 when he sanctioned Cristiano Ronaldo's departure to Real Madrid.

The Portuguese star was a leading light at Old Trafford but had been keen on a move to Spain, which eventually needed a then world record fee.

Ferguson was loathed to sell him but understood Ronaldo's desire to play for Los Blancos.

"When the possibility of him leaving edged towards being a probability, I reached a gentleman's agreement with him," the Scot wrote in his Autobiography.

"I went to Carlos's (Queiroz, former Manchester United assistant coach and then-Portugal manager) house in Portugal to find the boy expressing an urge to go to Real Madrid, and told him: 'You can't go this year, not after the way Calderon has approached the issue'.

"I said, 'I know you want to go to Real Madrid. But I'd rather shoot you than sell you to that guy now. If you perform, don't mess us about, and someone comes and offers a world record fee, then we will let you go.'"

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Ronaldo won a host of honours during his time at Old Trafford and has gone on to further his career at Madrid and Juventus.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, who played alongside Ronaldo, is looking to add a winger this summer.

United missed out on several of their key targets last year so will be looking to make up for lost time as they aim to close the gap on Manchester City.

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