Marcus Rashford has hit back at criticism of his lifestyle and commitment to Manchester United and believes he has suffered a backlash over his campaign against child food poverty which “seemed to rub certain people the wrong way”.
Rashford was spotlighted by BBC pundit Alan Shearer for his body language during the FA Cup win over Nottingham Forest, with the former England striker insisting that “you as an individual have to take responsibility for your actions on the pitch from time to time” .
The 26-year-old United forward suggested there is a ‘tone’ in the reporting he receives that other footballers are not subject to, suggesting bias. He has “accepted responsibility for his actions” this season after calling in sick after being photographed in Belfast two nights earlier.
“It can’t just be about me as a 26-year-old boy going out for a night, or about a boy getting a parking fine,” Rashford wrote on the Players’ Tribune website. ‘It should be about how much my car costs, my weekly salary, my jewelry or even my tattoos. It has to be about my body language, questioning my morals, and speculating about my family and my football future. There is a tone that you don’t hear from all football players. Let’s just leave it at that.
“I think some of it goes back to the pandemic. I was just trying to use my voice to make sure kids didn’t go hungry, because I know exactly what it feels like. For some reason that seemed to rub some people the wrong way. It’s like they waited for me to have a human moment so they could point the finger and say, “See? Do you see who he really is?’
Rashford was awarded an MBE and internationally recognized for his work in securing free school meals in England during holidays and other support for low-income families. On the pitch, last season was his most successful United campaign in terms of goals, but his season saw a dip in form and questions about his efforts.
He revealed he turned down ‘life-changing’ money to stay at United’s academy, and also tried playing for another team before returning to his boyhood club.
“Listen, I’m not a perfect person. “If I make a mistake, I will be the first to raise my hand and say I have to do better,” he said. “But if you ever question my commitment to Man United, then I have to say so. It’s like someone is questioning my entire identity and everything I stand for as a man. I grew up here. I play for this club since I was a boy. My family turned down life-changing money when I was a child so I could wear this badge.
“I can tolerate any criticism. I can handle any cup. From podcasts, social media and the newspaper. I can handle it. But if you question my commitment to this club and my love for football and involving my family, then I would just ask you to have a little more humanity.”
Rashford played in the defeat to Fulham that dented United’s hopes of qualifying for the Champions League last weekend.
“I promise you the world hasn’t seen the best of this United team and these players yet,” he said. “We want to play in the Champions League again, then we will have a major international tournament at the end of the season. We’ll be back where we belong. We just have to keep working, and that starts with me.”
Rasford on…
Youth
Rashford described the public version of his upbringing as “just scratching the surface” and that there was more to his childhood than being from Wythenshawe, south Manchester. There he lived with his mother, but he also stayed with his aunt in Hulme, with his grandmother in Moss Side and with his brother in Chorlton. “I wouldn’t change a thing, no matter how hard it was, because it made me who I am,” he wrote. When he started at United at the age of seven, he took four buses across Manchester to get to training at The Cliff. “Someone had to take time off work to come with me because no one in our family had a car,” he wrote. “Nobody even had a permit. In those early days it was two buses into town, then we had to walk through town to get to the other bus out of town to get into Salford. Even in the pouring rain. Nothing really good to eat.”
Offers to leave United
By the time he was 11, other clubs were trying to entice the Rashfords to sign him away from United. At that age, his family were in charge of his affairs, rather than an agent, and Rashford discusses a family meeting in which he made it clear he wanted to play for United. “A few clubs offered us life-changing money. We buy a house for the family and put cars in your garage,” he wrote. “We will change your family’s lives. My mother worked as a cashier at Ladbrokes at the time. My brother worked for AA. They had every right to say to me, ‘Just take the deal’.” Rashford also reveals that he played two games for another Academy, but his family told him he wanted to return to United. This was a big risk, Rashford said, emphasizing that “we are betting everything on ourselves – all our chips”.
Errors
Rashford’s 2,000 words were fueled by accusations that he would not commit to United, but there have been incidents where his professionalism under Erik Ten Hag has been questioned. He was dropped after sleeping in and missing a team meeting. This season his manager has criticized him for organizing a birthday party on the night of the derby defeat in Manchester. He was subsequently disciplined for going to Belfast to party before missing training through illness. “I’m a human being. I’ve made mistakes that a lot of guys in their 20s make, and I’ve tried to learn from them. But I’ve also made sacrifices that no one sees,” he said. “I want you to understand that money It’s not what keeps you playing through hard times, it’s the love of the game, plain and simple.”
Criticism fuels him
Rashford gives away very little when he speaks in public. He can seem distant. He looked one of the most driven players in the Premier League last season and says that now, with questions about his efforts, he is fueled by the criticism leveled at him. “Part of me doesn’t mind when people doubt me. When everyone tells me they love me, I get suspicious,” he wrote. “I know how the world works. I had to become a man very young. I always had to rely on myself. When I’ve been in my darkest places and it feels like half the world is against me, I tend to go alone for a few days and reset, and then I’m fine.”
Fans
Interestingly, Rashford feeds off the energy of the fans and the way they create an atmosphere – good or bad – is clearly picked up by United’s players. City have been the dominant team in Manchester – and the Premier League – since Rashford broke into United’s first team and he describes the spell at Old Trafford as a ‘transition’. “If we win, you will be the biggest fans in the world,” he wrote. He calls for more of ‘that old-fashioned positive energy’ and hinted that the supporters may underestimate what a powerful force they can be in driving the team forward. Rashford’s affinity, he writes, perhaps comes from being a fan himself and understanding the rivalry with City and Liverpool. He remembers getting a tackle on James Milner, a friend of his, because the emotion of a derby was overwhelming.
Current team
This was a United team that won a trophy last season and finished in the top four. This season they have dined at the top of Europe, but it hardly seemed like they belonged there. Rashford’s message is that they can be back soon and that the current group of players can improve. After defeats such as those to Fulham last weekend, there was talk of the manager entering the transfer market, but Rashford says there is room for improvement from within.