MARCUS RASHFORD should at least consider the advice of Harry Maguire, his team-mate and former captain at Manchester United.
Maguire has had his problems at Old Trafford, like Rashford, and has also suffered a huge amount of criticism again, like Rashford.
But the centre-half has stubbornly refused to leave, maintaining that once you quit United, the only way is down.
This is something Rashford should remember as he steps towards the exit during this January transfer window.
Rashford’s brother and representative, Dwaine Maynard, has held talks with Milan and is likely to speak to more clubs over the coming days.
And it is hardly surprising that a large number of clubs, both in England and Europe, have approached United over recruiting an enormous talent like the 27-year-old.
The latest rumours suggest West Ham have entered the race, while Tottenham have also been credited with taking an interest.
His £350,000-a-week wages are, unsurprisingly, a huge stumbling block. The negotiations will be complicated as clubs will want United to still commit to some of the wages while there is also the size of a fee if the loan deal is with a view to a permanent transfer.
Rashford is in a different situation to Maguire or the other stars at United as he has been at the club all of his life. We should not underestimate how difficult this can be.
As Trent Alexander-Arnold will testify at Liverpool, local lads who come through the ranks at a club are judged and treated more harshly by supporters, which does seem grossly unfair.
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It has been a particularly difficult couple of years for Rashford and since Ruben Amorim arrived in late November, the situation has not improved.
As Rashford revealed in his interview last month with journalist Henry Winter, “it is time for a new challenge.”
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It was interesting that Rashford gave the interview while returning to his former school to hand out 420 Christmas presents.
Rashford has done an extraordinary number of good things away from football and here was the latest evidence. The way he lobbied the UK government to provide free school lunches for youngsters during the Covid pandemic was an outstanding effort.
So those who have guided him in the past should be given credit. Equally, the decision to speak so candidly about his situation at United before Christmas following the arrival of a new coach- although all journalists would have loved to get that interview – was a move which was always going to annoy Amorim.
Yet the problem with Rashford is that he has been a source of frustration for every United manager he has played under. It just seems that now, he is less worried about infuriating the club’s management or maybe, he does not really care at all.
In October 2023, the striker was spotted partying just hours after his club got hammered by Manchester City.
And 12 months ago, Rashford went on a 12-hour tequila booze bender in Belfast. One of the other memorable facts from this trip was the claim that he ordered bruschetta at a restaurant but did not touch it as he does not like tomatoes with seeds in them.
And according to a Belfast waitress he befriended on the night, Rashford also speculated whether he would be able to play his own music at a nightclub. Although trivial, it illustrated that maybe, here was someone in danger of becoming detached from reality as this was not normal behaviour. He then reported ill the following day and missed United’s FA Cup win at Newport.
Understandably, Erik ten Hag was livid and fined the player two weeks’ wages. In his recent interview, Rashford claimed he was “misunderstood” and he seems to be a genuinely shy individual, rather than a gobby extrovert.
He still has only himself to blame for his drop in form on the pitch but equally, he is young enough – and certainly good enough – to get back on track.
By searching for another club, Rashford is looking to kickstart his flagging England career. His debut came against Australia in a friendly before Euro 2016 and he has picked up 60 caps, scoring 17 goals.
In total, 57 of those appearances came under Gareth Southgate but the England manager became exasperated with Rashford as he was often unavailable for many internationals due to injury, before then playing in the next Premier League game for United.
England’s incoming manager Thomas Tuchel insists everyone has a clean slate and this will include Rashford.
So he has a terrific chance to be part of a squad for the World Cup in the United States, Mexico and Canada.
This is why it is important that Rashford, outstanding for United in the 2022/23 season, picks his next club wisely. Whether you can trust the people around him to give the right advice remains to be seen.
There is a school of thought that in the short-term, he would be better to get his head down at United under Amorim.
Whatever he decides to do, it is vital that he remains professional on the pitch but also off it.
Ultimately, he needs to start enjoying his football again and only then will we see the old Marcus Rashford.
MARCUS RASHFORD is at a crossroads.
But now the England star has to make the biggest choice he has ever faced – does he care about cash, or about his career?
Rashford’s shock admission that he is “ready for a new challenge” after some two decades under the Manchester United umbrella has altered the dynamic around his future.
That Rashford might not fit the blueprint of Ruben Amorim – who has now responded to Rashford’s comments – was not exactly a surprise.
The Portuguese coach prefers a 3-4-3 formation but appears to have settled on Rasmus Hojlund as his starting central striker and wants two “narrow” inside forwards, with the width coming from the wing-backs.
Rashford has always wanted to play through the middle but is often at his best exploiting spaces out wide – and that skillset does not necessarily suit the way Amorim wants to play.
Even so, going public with his evident dissatisfaction at being bombed entirely from the squad for the Manchester derby was a major move, even if he vowed there would be “no hard feelings” if he does leave his boyhood club.
In truth, Rashford has been leaving United almost from the moment he signed that new £325,000 per week contract in 2023.
Something was broken in his connection to the club. His form dropped, his threat dissipated, his issues with the hierarchy deepened.
When Erik ten Hag dropped him for hosting a birthday party after a derby defeat, and he later pulled a sickie to miss the FA Cup game with Newport, it felt even then that the writing was on the wall.
The facts suggest the love affair has ended. After scoring 30 in all competitions to earn that new deal, he has scored just 15 in the 18 months since it was signed.
Amorim’s arrival seems merely to have accelerated what was increasingly inevitable.
Now, though, it is up to Rashford to determine what his future will bring.
If it is only about the money, then his options might be somewhat limited.
It is hard to see a Prem rival coughing up the same £16.9m annual salary – although Rashford’s comments have probably knocked £20m-plus off any transfer fee.
But Real Madrid have their fill of big-money strikers and Barcelona’s budget remains restricted by LaLiga financial controls.
In Europe, then, that probably leaves PSG – but a move to a one-club league.
Or, in the wider world, he could follow the likes of Ivan Toney, Cristiano Ronaldo, Roberto Firmino and Co and head to the Saudi desert.
Lucrative, yep. Certainly a different environment – and that may be exactly what Rashford both wants and needs. But the football? Not in a million years.
What Rashford needs, above all, is to be able to play for trophies and showcase his talents.
There is no better stage than the Premier League – which has far more global eyeballs on it than any other domestic competition.
And in that Premier League there is one club crying out for a goalscoring No 9, especially if he can also play down the left channel to balance out the side and widen its threat.
Rashford has always been more Longsight than London.
Yet Arsenal, and Mikel Arteta, might be the perfect fit.
The Gunners’ lack of a proper scorer is one of the major factors many fans feel has hurt their title challenge this year.
Gabriel Jesus has never been a natural finisher, while Kai Havertz is still a converted midfielder.
And while the link-up between Martin Odegaard and Bukayo Saka makes their right flank deadly, faith in Gabriel Martinelli on the left is waning.
There have not been too many who succeeded at Arsenal after leaving United – although Danny Welbeck was not a flop.
Rashford has all the attributes to change that history, if he can reproduce what everybody knows is inside him.
And by breaking free, giving himself the chance to start all over, Rashford can make a point to Amorim that will resonate for a very long time.
