Marcus Rashford has admitted he is ready to leave Manchester United and begin a “new challenge”.
Rashford was left out of the squad for Sunday’s Manchester derby, along with winger Alejandro Garnacho, with manager Ruben Amorim later explaining: “It’s important for me the performance in training, the performance in game, the way you dress, the way you eat, the way you engage with the team-mates, the way you push your team-mates.”
The 27-year-old has been at United since he was seven years old, and broke into the first team aged 18 under then manager Louis van Gaal. But after nearly a decade in the first team, Rashford has said it is time to move on.
“For me, personally, I think I’m ready for a new challenge and the next steps,” he told the journalist Henry Winter. “When I leave it’s going to be ‘no hard feelings’. You’re not going to have any negative comments from me about Manchester United. That’s me as a person.”
He added: “If I know that a situation is already bad I’m not going to make it worse. 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.”
Amorim’s ruthless decision to leave out two of his star names was vindicated as United pulled off a rare win over City at the Etihad Stadium, thanks to two late goals.
Afterwards the manager extended an olive branch to Rashford and Garnacho, saying: “If they train well with the talent they have, we will be so much better with both of them. But they have to work hard.”
Amorim added that both players had been in training on the morning of Sunday’s derby game. “Today, they train really hard, so it’s a good thing.”
But speaking during a visit to his former primary school, Rashford admitted it looked like the end of the road at Old Trafford.
“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 has scored three goals since Amorim took over last month, but was taken off in the 56th minute of last week's 2-1 Europa League victory over Viktoria Plzen, with supporters booing the striker as he left the pitch.
He has yet to rediscover the form that saw him score 30 goals across all competitions in the 2022-23 season, but he still believes the best is yet to come.
“I’m halfway through my career. I don't expect my peak to be now,” Rashford said. “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.”
United next play against Tottenham in the Carabao Cup on Thursday night, before taking on Bournemouth in the Premier League on Sunday.
