Marcus Rashford Departs Manchester United
After a rough start for Marcus Rashford under new manager Ruben Amorim, the mercurial forward has left Manchester United for the rest of this season on loan to Aston Villa. Rashford’s role at Old Trafford has dwindled over the last several seasons. In that time multiple managers have called out the former England international for his consistency, professionalism and training habits.
Amorim has only had a few months to assess Rashford. Yet he still sees Marcus’s influence as so problematic that he saw fit to exile our best goal scorer to Birmingham in a moment when United cant score to safe their lives. Regardless of the narrative, it is clear that the two do not see eye to eye and are not currently in a place to reconcile.
However, hope for United fans remains in the fact that there is no obligation to buy in the deal. Moreover, the manager has never fully shut the door on Rashford. Amoim has merely pointed out that the coaching staff and his teammates expect more from a player of his calibre. And it has been too long since he has delivered that quality on and off the pitch.
Amorim has also repeated several times in his press conferences that should Rashford improve where he has been asked to then he would be welcomed back with open arms.
Clearly Rashy’s ongoing refusal to acquiesce to Amorim’s demands, compounded by similar past discrepancies, has led the club, manager and player to want some time and space to decide on a long term solution.
Rashford to Villa is a Win for All
Rashford’s loan is being branded as win-win for everyone. But is it really?
It is a win for Amorim. He gets relief from the distraction of the whole situation in a difficult spell for the squad. He also gets relief from Rashford’s disruptive influence in the dressing room.
It is a win for Rashy, who now gets a chance at redemption. He has been benched most of the season and as been removed from the England squad for a year. Not to mention, he has already had his deals with Nike, Beats, Levi’s, Burberry and several other brands affected by his lack of game time.
United also get a win. They get time to assess whether his career at Old Trafford can be resurrected, without having to deal with the public exposure caused by the conspicuousness of his absence in the squad. Meanwhile he will get regular game time at Villa Park, preserving his transfer value should United sell him.
Even Aston Villa can consider his loan deal a huge success. Not only do they get a world class player, they get dibs on him at a discounted price of $45 million should they decide to make the deal permanent.
But, what do the fans get? I cannot be the only United fan left feeling bewildered, frustrated, and a little hosed. One of our best players, a prodigal son, Manchester born and bred, and the greatest youth to come out of United’s academy since the class of 1992, can’t get his act together and is deemed surplus to requirements. What is the x-factor here? How does something like this happen? Is there a way back?
Marcus Rashford’s Fall From Grace
Anyone who has watched Marcus Rashford regularly is aware of his heroics, philanthropy, and potential. At one point his capacity for football seemed boundless. But, what went wrong? That kind of potential doesn’t simply disappear.
Burn Out
There is a valid argument that he was relied on too much at an early age at Untied. Meanwhile, other than under Solskjaer, he hasn’t played under a manager or in a system conducive to his talents. What’s more, like Rooney, his sheer athletic ability and football intelligence means he gets played out of position, a lot. All problems that have stunted his development.
Under Gareth Southgate, one of the men responsible for developing Rashford through his initiatives at the FA, he thrived as an outside-in forward on the left of a front three for England. He was lights out for The Three Lions. But it would now appear that he is not even welcome in the England camp any more.
Just how toxic has his influence become when he has been exiled by both club and country?…Not 18 months after being knighted and capping off the best season of his career, with a combine 34 goals and assists. Did he simply hit his peak and burn out under the pressure?…
Even Marcus Rashford is Human
The ‘clubbing in Dublin incident’ was well publicized and not the first account of such behavior. You could write it off as a someone who works in a high stress environment burning off steam. However, he was widely criticized after his tequila fueled bender led him to miss training and a subsequent FA Cup match.
From that perspective, Rashy is great friends with players like Pogba, Lingard, Sancho, and Martial. All friends he had to watch be ostracized by fans and pundits, and eventually let go by Manchester United for character issues.
It can’t be easy to watch your best friends go through so much criticism, only to reach the same point. And it cant be easy to ignore the disgruntled influence of said friends now that he is in the same boat.
Marcus has also had some reported, non specified, domestic issues with his long time partner. The alleged volatility in their relationship has been cited by members of his inner circle as a having a huge influence on his lack of consistency on the pitch.
It is clear that Marcus is deeply passionate about life and the people he spends it with. But, he seems to have lost his passion for football. He also appears to be completely tone deaf to how his choices are affecting his game and the public view of him.
The bottom line is, he seems to have a lot of bad advisors and distractions that are doubling as justification for his behavior. Sir Alex Ferguson’s first concern with every player he ever coached was that they had a stable and supportive home life. I wonder what he would say to Rashford if he was still in charge today?
Manchester United Botch Rashford Situation
Marcus definitely needs to better understand his role in his current predicament. And that he is the only one with the power to resurrect his career.
However, Manchester United are not innocent in this situation. Their financial choices are a huge source of the problem. The decisions United’s front office has made are the reason Marcus has to be sold. Rather than repairing his fractured relationships with Amorim and his teammates and reintegrating him into the squad.
The bottom line, Marcus is one of several players in the club’s recent history that has an overcompensated, bloated contract. This leads to three issues.
Financial Fair Play
First, it eats into the wage budget, placing further strain on United’s already precarious FFP concerns. INEOS has made it clear that they intend to trim the clubs expenditure dramatically. His contract at United is worth almost $12,000,000 per year. Under INEOS, if Rashy isn’t producing, that is a huge chunk of change they will want back in the coffers.
In tandem with FFP, his contract imposes further restraints on how competitive the wage packets are that the club can offer other players. Making it harder for the club to make attractive offers to prospective and incumbent players.
It also simultaneously sets a standard, allowing those players more leverage in negotiating a bloated contract for themselves.
Meanwhile, the majority of United’s squad gets paid significantly less than Rashy. This gives rise to a potential source of resentment from these players towards the club and Marcus as he continues to ride the pine.
Players Get Too Comfortable
Second, it offers too much comfort and authority to the player. At 27, Rashford is a youth team product, and a senior leader in the squad after nearly ten years in the first team. He is meant to be an example to the next generation. But, what kind of example does it set to those players when he is content to potentially sacrifice his career by acting like a manchild?
Marcus Rashford has a guaranteed base salary of $350k/week. Plus an added $50k/week if United are in the Champions League or $30k for the Europa League. He doesn’t even have to play to get those bonuses. He also gets another $75k/week in potential performance based add-ons such as scoring a goal, getting an assist or playing more than 90 minutes in a week.
The man literally gets bonuses for performing what should already be apart of his job description!
So, I ask, where is the motivation to lead? Where is motivation to perform every week? He will still get paid $12 million, plus tens of millions more in sponsor deals and bonuses every year to go clubbing and get medals pinned on him? Meanwhile, he simultaneously hides behind the merit of his charitable causes and the grace that fans afford him because of a small handful of spectacular moments on the pitch.
At least his sponsors had the common sense to add a clause penalizing Rashford for not playing. Why Manchester United didn’t do the same is a mystery.
Marcus Rashford Might be Impossible to Sell
Third, United’s choices have made him impossible to sell, and almost impossible to loan without covering some of his wages.
Granted, as apart of his loan to Aston Villa, Villa are paying 70% of his wages, and that number increases slightly should they qualify for Europe. But, that still saddles United with a $100k bill every week so he can play for a team seven places ahead of us in the table. None of which is Rashford fault.
However, Marcus Rashford is in the top 5% of earners in European football. Yet, since renewing his United contract in 2023, his production has been in the bottom 25% of attacking players. The fact Aston Villa were willing to pay such a high percentage of his wages is astonishing.
What’s more, what team is going to want to front the $65 million transfer fee United are demanding, on top of Rashford’s astronomical wages, for a player that doesn’t perform? Elite teams aren’t stupid enough to buy a player at the age of 27 on potential alone. There are expectations that come with his experience.
Meanwhile three years ago he had market value of $110 million and was only getting paid $150k/week after bonuses. If I am United’s front office I am kicking myself for not selling him sooner. Instead they chose to triple his contract value.
Manchester United are the Problem
Manchester United used to be known for their unparalleled recruitment strategies and academy program. An elite mentality and character was ingrained into every player they bought and developed. However, lately, they have been producing and recruiting players who are vein, prima donnas that are so full of themselves eventually no one wants them.
Players like Marcus, Martial, Pogba, Lingard, and now potentially Alejandro Garnacho. They have all been accused of being poor trainers, being too focused on their brand and social media, not being consistent on the pitch, and making questionable choices, like going clubbing in the lead up to an important match.
But, the sad truth is, Manchester United were responsible for Marcus’s development. The club is also responsible for the recruitment of the players around him. And on both counts United has failed
If the club had hired an elite front office a decade ago, like they should have, the flaws in the academy and recruitment system that led to players with these types of character weaknesses could have been discovered and course corrected.
Instead, Rashford’s and several other players’ behavior was placated and even rewarded by the club because of their potential and marketability. Manchester United created this problem by prioritizing commercial revenue over player character.
Cristiano Ronaldo
While I will do my best not to digress too far down this rabbit hole, I believe that Cristiano Ronaldo’s return to Manchester United was the beginning of the end for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, Edinson Cavani and Marcus Rashford at Old Trafford.
Under Solskjaer, Marcus was experiencing one of his most prolific and consistent spells in his career. He even scored the game winner THAT night in Paris. Ole instilled unbridled faith in Rashford and made him United’s go to goal scorer alongside Edinson Cavani. The two combined for more than 50 goals and assists in the 20/21 season.
The moment CR7 arrived at Old Trafford, he became the main man. Everything from tactics to positioning ran through him. While they are drastically different players, Rashford and Ronaldo play in too many of the same areas of the pitch. Because of that they can’t both thrive at the same time.
Overnight, Marcus went from being one of the squads most trusted producers to a bit part player in the Cristiano Ronaldo Show.
Ronaldo also happens to be an idol of Rashford. Meaning, despite being forced to play second fiddle to CR7, Marcus’s admiration for Ronaldo made it all to easy for him to pick up several of his mentors bad habits. Such as putting himself before the club and his teammates, and passivagressivley communicating with the manager and club through the media.
No one can blame Ronaldo for the player and person Marcus Rashford has become. But every journey begins with the first domino falling. For Rashy’s fall from grace, CR7 was that first domino.
My Final Verdict on Marcus Rashford
Marcus Rashford will never be Cristiano Ronaldo.
Rashy only has 143 goals in 400+ senior appearances. Where as Ronaldo has tallied 925 goals in 1250 appearances. Ronaldo has earned his right to be a prima donna, Rashford has not.
Until the Erik ten Hag era, Marcus was my favorite United player. But now that he has evolved into the player he is currently, I’m left feeling disappointed in him.
It is easy to point the finger at the club for his development or the financial issues they created. It is also true that Marcus is still a young and impressionable man. He has a tightly knit ride-or-die group of friends and family constantly pulling him in their direction. Just like many of us mere mortals.
You could even make the argument that his sheer talent, past heroics, and time spent at the club have earned him a little leash when it comes to his social life and training methods. But that slack comes with the stipulation that he perform.
In the end, there is only one truth that matters. We are all responsible for our own choices. When all is said and done, he is the only one responsible for his life. Instead of stepping up and adapting, Rashford is currently wasting the prime years of his career. And for what? Another shot of tequila? Another lap around the dance floor? Or another viral social media post?
If he can shift his mentality and rediscover his best form then I’d love to have him back. But, as long as he is content to waste the time and effort of everyone affiliated with the club he can stay at Villa for all I care. His fate is in his own hands.
Glory, Glory Man United!
Be the first to comment