Early career in 2017 Sancho joined
Watford at the age of seven. At the age of 14 he told his Watford under-15s coach about his intention to play for England. At the age of 14, he moved to
Manchester City in March 2015 for an initial fee of £66,000 under the
Elite Player Performance Plan, potentially rising to £500,000 with add ons. Sancho continued to impress in the City academy and was one of a trio of players that City chairman,
Khaldoon Al Mubarak, said would be fast tracked into the senior set up in May 2017. In July, Sancho was omitted from City's pre-season tour squad due to a dispute over assurances of playing time in a new contract. It was subsequently reported that Sancho was attempting to engineer a move away from the club and City were alarmed at Sancho's attitude after he missed training following a pre-season tour.
Borussia Dortmund 2017–2019 Sancho signed for German
Bundesliga club
Borussia Dortmund on 31 August 2017 for a fee reported to be in the region of £8 million and was immediately included in the first-team squad. He later stated that he felt confident in making the move abroad due to his previous experiences in relocating with Watford and Manchester City. Sancho made his first league start for Dortmund on 14 January 2018, hitting the woodwork in a goalless draw with
VfL Wolfsburg. He scored his first professional goal on 21 April. It was the first goal in a 4–0 victory against
Bayer Leverkusen in the Bundesliga and he also
assisted two other goals in the same match. Having signed a new contract keeping him at the club until 2022, Sancho enjoyed a successful October 2018 by being named Bundesliga Player of the Month, registering three goals and an assist in just three league games. Included among his goals for the month was a brace in a draw against
Hertha BSC which saw him become the first player born in the 2000s to score twice in a single Bundesliga match and the youngest ever by a Dortmund player. On 24 October, he also became the first player born in the 2000s to score in the
UEFA Champions League for Dortmund against
Atlético Madrid. in 2020 During a 3–3 draw with
TSG Hoffenheim on 9 February 2019, he became the youngest-ever player to score eight goals in a single Bundesliga season, breaking the record previously held by
Christian Wück. Later that month, upon scoring in a 3–2 win over Bayer Leverkusen, he broke
Lukas Podolski's record to become the youngest player to score nine Bundesliga goals, aged 18 years and 336 days. On 13 April, Sancho scored a brace in a 2–1 win over
Mainz 05 and in doing so became the youngest-ever Dortmund player to score at least 10 goals in a single Bundesliga campaign. Following an impressive league campaign in which he scored 12 goals and provided 14 assists, Sancho was named in the
2018–19 Bundesliga Team of the Season.
2019–2021 Success continued ahead of the
2019–20 season, with Sancho providing an assist and scoring in a 2–0
DFL-Supercup victory over Bayern Munich on 3 August 2019. Later that month Sancho agreed a new contract with Dortmund. In November, he was named runner-up in the
Golden Boy award. The next month, he was named runner-up in the
Kopa Trophy award. Sancho's goal in Dortmund's 3–3 draw with
RB Leipzig on 17 December meant he had scored in seven consecutive games for the club (including in
Champions League matches against
Barcelona and
Slavia Prague), bringing his tally up to 15 goals and 16 assists in the Bundesliga in the calendar year of 2019. Sancho's three goals and three assists in five league matches during February 2020 saw him named
Bundesliga Player of the Month for the second time in his career. On 31 May 2020, Sancho scored his first career
hat-trick in a 6–1 away win over
SC Paderborn. After scoring his first goal, he removed his shirt to reveal a shirt with the message "Justice for
George Floyd", a black man who was
murdered earlier that week in Minneapolis by a police officer, who knelt on Floyd's neck until he became unresponsive. He finished the 2019–20 season with career-best numbers, scoring 17 goals and providing 16 assists in the Bundesliga. On 13 May 2021, Sancho scored two goals in a 4–1 win over RB Leipzig in the
2021 DFB-Pokal final.
Manchester United 2021–2023 in 2021 On 1 July 2021, it was announced that
Manchester United and Dortmund had reached an agreement for Sancho's transfer, subject to him signing a contract and passing a medical, both of which were expected to happen after
UEFA Euro 2020. The transfer was completed on 23 July, for a reported transfer fee of £73 million (€85 million), after Sancho signed a five-year contract with the option of a further year. On 14 August, he made his debut as a substitute for
Daniel James in a 5–1 home league win over
rivals Leeds United. On 23 November, he scored his first goal for the club, against
Villarreal to secure a spot in the knockout stage of the
Champions League. Five days later, he scored his first Premier League goal against Chelsea after
Jorginho miscontrolled a long clearance from
Bruno Fernandes, allowing Sancho to take advantage of a two-on-one with
Édouard Mendy. Sancho scored his first goal of the 2022–23 season in a 2–1 home victory over
Liverpool on 22 August 2022. On 1 February 2023, he played in the EFL Cup semi-final second leg match against
Nottingham Forest, his first match since October 2022, as his team secured a place in the
final. A week later, he came off the bench to score the equalising goal in a 2–2 draw at home to Leeds United.
2023–24: Removal from squad, loan return to Dortmund Sancho was not included in United's squad for their game against
Arsenal on 3 September 2023, with manager
Erik ten Hag explaining that Sancho was not picked due to "his performances in training", stating that players "have to reach a level every day at Manchester United". In response, Sancho wrote on social media that "I will not allow people saying things that is completely untrue, I have conducted myself very well in training this week... I've been a scapegoat for a long time which isn't fair!" United then announced on 14 September that Sancho would train "away from the first team group pending resolution of a squad discipline issue." On 11 January 2024, Sancho returned to former club Borussia Dortmund on
loan for the rest of the
2023–24 season following his desire to leave United after his exclusion from the squad by Ten Hag for disciplinary reasons. Dortmund paid United a reported loan fee of €4 million. On 13 January, Sancho featured in his first match since rejoining Dortmund, coming on as a substitute in the 55th minute of the game against
Darmstadt 98, which ended in a 3–0 win, with Sancho providing the assist for a goal from
Marco Reus. On 9 March, Sancho scored against
Werder Bremen, drawing level with
Tony Woodcock as the highest-scoring Englishman in the
Bundesliga. Four days later, he scored against
PSV, as Dortmund secured their spot in the quarter-finals of the
Champions League. This record lasted just under five months, as he would be surpassed by
Harry Kane. On 1 May, he completed 12 dribbles against
Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League semi-final first leg, the most from a player at that round since
Lionel Messi in 2008. On 1 June, he started in the
Champions League final for Dortmund at
Wembley Stadium, playing 87 minutes as they lost 2–0 to
Real Madrid.
2024–25: loan to Chelsea in 2025 Following his loan to Dortmund, Sancho returned to training with United following a meeting with Ten Hag, in which they reportedly drew a line under their disagreement. On 10 August 2024, he came on as a substitute in the
2024 FA Community Shield against
Manchester City, later missing a penalty in the ensuing shoot-out as City triumphed. On 31 August, Sancho signed for fellow Premier League club
Chelsea on loan for the
2024–25 season, with an obligation to buy. The obligation to buy, worth £20 million plus £5 million in performance-related add-ons, would reportedly be triggered if Chelsea finish within the top 14. He made his debut as a half-time substitute for
Pedro Neto in a league match against
Bournemouth on 14 September. After assisting
Christopher Nkunku's winning goal in the 86th minute, Sancho was named Man of the Match. Sancho started in Chelsea's next two Premier League matches and registered assists in both games, away at
West Ham United on 21 September and at home against
Brighton & Hove Albion on 28 September, both matches ending in victories for Chelsea. He scored his first goal for Chelsea with the fifth goal in their 5–1 league win over
Southampton on 4 December. He then scored a long-range strike against
Tottenham Hotspur on 8 December, with this goal being the first of four to spark a comeback victory for Chelsea. On 1 May 2025, Sancho scored the opening goal in the first leg of the
Conference League semi-final, helping Chelsea to a 4–1 away win over
Djurgården. Later that month, on 28 May, he netted the third goal for Chelsea in a 4–1 win over
Real Betis in the
2025 UEFA Conference League final. On 3 June, Chelsea chose not to exercise the option to sign Sancho, paying a £5 million penalty to Manchester United to avoid signing him permanently.
2025–present: Loan to Aston Villa On 1 September, Sancho signed for fellow Premier League club
Aston Villa on a season-long loan. Sancho was first included in the matchday squad during the 0–0 draw against Everton on 13 September 2025, and he made his first appearance for Aston Villa during the loss on penalties against
Brentford in the
EFL Cup third round on 16 September 2025. Sancho scored his first goal for Aston Villa on 22 January 2026 during the 1–0 victory against
Fenerbahçe in the
UEFA Europa League. ==International career==