Marcus Rashford’s almost 20-year association with Manchester United looks set to come to an end after the striker acknowledged: “I think I’m ready for a new challenge and the next steps.” The England international was dropped from the squad for the Manchester derby victory over City on Sunday and the club are open to selling him.
The 27-year-old has struggled for form over the past two seasons and the new head coach, Ruben Amorim, and United’s hierarchy will be happy to move Rashford on in January. United are willing to listen to offers for the forward but his £365,000 per week wages could make it difficult to find a suitor that can afford him, so may need to accept below-market value to smooth his departure.
“If I know that a situation is already bad I’m not going to make it worse,” Rashford told the journalist Henry Winter. “I’ve seen how other players have left in the past and I don’t want to be that person. When I leave I’ll make a statement and it will be from me.”
United’s minority owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe is looking to be more ruthless than previous regimes and Rashford has been part of the club’s recent malaise. He joined the club aged seven, going on to make his first-team debut at 18, scoring twice in a Europa League win over Midtjylland to ignite a meteoric rise, making 426 appearances and scoring 138 goals to date.
After 17 Premier League goals in 2022-23, Rashford’s form has dramatically declined and the former head coach Erik ten Hag was forced to discipline him for off-field discretions on more than one occasion.
Rashford had been a regular under Amorim following his appointment last month but was left out of the trip to the Etihad Stadium at the weekend, along with fellow forward Alejandro Garnacho. Amorim said of the situation: “It is important the performance in training, the performance in games, the way you dress, the way you eat, the way you engage with your teammates, the way you push your teammates.”
Speaking of being dropped, Rashford said: “It’s disheartening to be left out of a derby, but it’s happened, we won the game so let’s move on. It’s disappointing but I’m also someone as I’ve got older I can deal with setbacks. What am I going to do about it? Sit there and cry about it. Or do my best the next time I’m available.”
Rashford’s underwhelming performances last season resulted in Gareth Southgate leaving him out of the England squad for the European Championship and he is yet to recapture the form that has helped him earn 60 caps, leading to the belief that he and United might need a fresh start.
“I’m halfway through my career,” Rashford said. “I don’t expect my peak to be now. I’ve had nine years so far in the Premier League and that’s taught me a lot, that’s helped me grow as a player and as a person. So I don’t have any regrets from the last nine years. I won’t have any regrets going forward because I take things day by day and sometimes bad things happen, sometimes good things happen. I just try and keep a fine balance.” Asked if the best is yet to come? “100%. That’s my mentality.”
