Man Utd told which one of their players can win the Ballon d’Or

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·7 November 2025

Man Utd told which one of their players can win the Ballon d’Or

A Manchester United player can win the Ballon d’Or after one of his former coaches made a compelling parallel to current holder, Ousmane Dembele.

On four occasions have players playing for Man Utd won the Ballon d’Or – Denis Law (1964), Bobby Charlton (1966), George Best (1968) and most recently, Cristiano Ronaldo in 2008.

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United have not had a star secure a top-three finish since then, but according to manager Edin Terzic, there is a player on their books who can scoop the award.

Speaking in an interview with The Telegraph, Terzic – who has managed and helped develop some of the greatest footballers of current times like Declan Rice, Jude Bellingham, Erling Haaland and Alexander Isak – declared Jadon Sancho can win the honour. Terzic previously coached Sancho during his time at Borussia Dortmund.

“All those players (mentioned above) can win the Ballon d’Or in the future,” said Terzic. “Even Jadon.”

Of course, there has been little in recent years to suggest Sancho can come remotely close to winning the most prestigious individual prize in the sport.

However, Terzic went on to draw parallels with current holder, Ousmane Dembele, who like Sancho, had blown hot and cold earlier in his career amid frequent disciplinary issues.

“From the talent point of view, if you talk about Jadon then maybe five years ago you would talk about Ousmane Dembele in the same way. I am talking about the talent and potential.

“The difference is Erling will reach this level if he stays hungry: Jadon will only reach this level if he keeps smiling – and Jude needs to do both.”

Jadon Sancho needs a miracle

Before Sancho can even begin to think about winning the Ballon d’Or, he must first put two feet on the pitch and play football.

Sancho was loaned to Aston Villa for the 2025/26 campaign but has rarely featured thus far. He’s racked up 181 minutes of action, only eight of which have come in the Premier League.

The attacker earned a rare start on Thursday night in the Europa League. It did not go well, with Unai Emery’s side suffering a shock 2-1 defeat to Dutch club Go Ahead Eagles.

Sancho already looks unlikely to join Villa outright next summer. There is no option/obligation to buy and the early signs suggest Emery has no inclination to push for a permanent move from scratch. However, he’s not likely to stick around at Old Trafford either.

Man Utd and Ruben Amorim have made it crystal clear the £73m signing has no future at Old Trafford.

His current contract expires at the end of the season and if he is to spring the ultimate surprise and win the Ballon d’Or in the future, it’ll be for a team not named Man Utd.