Jadon Sancho takes aim at Man Utd after Marcus Rashford's Aston Villa debut | OneFootball

Jadon Sancho reacted to Marcus Rashford's first appearance for Aston Villa after leaving Manchester United on loan with one word: "Freedom".

Rashford came off the bench during the second half of Villa's 2-1 FA Cup victory over Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday afternoon. Those 24 minutes of action represented the England international's first competitive appearance in any competition since a Europa League tie against Viktoria Plzen on 12 December.

Ruben Amorim dropped Rashford for the Manchester derby three days later and never handed him another second of first-team football. The Portuguese coach has subsequently revealed that he was never able to convince the forward of his preferred style of play and consistently criticised his attitude in training.

It was a dispute over Sancho's work ethic at Carrington which led to his own Manchester United exile last season. Erik ten Hag was at the helm when he dropped Sancho for a trip to Arsenal in September 2023, explaining his absence was a result of his "performance in training".

Sancho took to social media to deliver a firm rebuttal of his manager's claims, insisting that he had been made a "scapegoat". Ten Hag refused to recall the English winger until he delivered a public apology. That never came. Sancho was subsequently loaned to Borussia Dortmund for the second half of last season - where he helped the German outfit reach the Champions League final - and was sent to Chelsea in August.

Marcus Rashford made his first appearance for Aston Villa on Sunday / Cameron Smith - Danehouse/GettyImages

Following Rashford's first appearance for Villa, he posted a series of images on Instagram with the caption: "Thank you for the warm welcome. Great team performance." Sancho mischievously replied with a nod to the end of his compatriot's exile, writing "Freedom" alongside a burst of celebratory emojis.

While Rashford's loan to Villa includes an option to buy worth a reported £40m, Sancho's move to Chelsea came with an obligation to make the deal permanent for a fee in the region of £25m.

Even though Rashford described his stay in Birmingham as "only short-term", reports suggest that it is "very unlikely" the academy graduate will ever play for United again, given his "near irreparable" relationship with the club.