Some of Marcus Rashford’s Manchester United team-mates still have not forgotten his infamous trip to Belfast, with the incident reportedly eroding his status in the dressing room.
In January, the England international courted controversy when he called in sick for training ahead of an FA Cup tie against Newport County only for it to emerge that he had been out partying in Belfast just hours before.
When Rashford was rumbled, he was dropped from the squad by manager Erik ten Hag and also fined £650,000.
Although he was quickly reintegrated back into the team – and notably scored a stunning goal in Sunday’s 3-1 defeat in the Manchester derby – it was claimed last week that he was barely on speaking terms with Ten Hag.
As well as harming his relationship with his manager, the incident also appears to have had a lingering effect within the dressing room too.
According to the Daily Mail, a number of Rashford’s team-mates still feel let down by his behaviour and particularly his attempt to try and claim his nightclub trip had happened prior to a scheduled day off – when it actually happened 24 hours later, mere hours before training.
As a local boy and one of the most experienced players in the team, boasting 392 appearances for the Red Devils, Rashford has long been an important voice in the dressing room.
But now his status as a senior figure within the squad ‘has been tarnished’ and his credibility as a leader damaged in the eyes of some team-mates.
A number of players share Ten Hag’s dim view of Rashford’s behaviour and still feel let down despite a recent article to the Players’ Tribune in which he hit out at anyone questioning his commitment to United.
‘When I make a mistake, I’ll be the first one to put my hand up and say that I need to do better,’ he wrote in a piece for the Players’ Tribune website.
‘But if you ever question my commitment to Man United, that’s when I have to speak up. It’s like somebody questioning my entire identity, and everything I stand for as a man.
‘I grew up here. I have played for this club since I was a boy. My family turned down life-changing money when I was a kid so I could wear this badge.
‘I can take any criticism. I can take any headline. From podcasts, social media and the papers. I can take it.
‘But if you start questioning my commitment to this club and my love for football and bringing my family into it, then I’d simply ask you to have a bit more humanity.’
Rashford’s goal in the Manchester derby was his sixth of a disappointing Premier League campaign in which he has struggled to hit the heights of last season, when he racked up 22 goal involvements.
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