The inside story of Marcus Rashford’s dramatic exit from Man United – The Athletic | OneFootball

The messy divorce between Marcus Rashford and Manchester United officially reached the ‘separation’ stage over the weekend as the 27-year-old’s loan move to Premier League rival Aston Villa until the end of the season was confirmed.

It brought an end, if only temporarily, to an increasingly intractable stand-off between the club’s head’s coach and the team’s star attacker, even if Rashford’s form has been far short of this status for the past eighteen months.

United Pushed For An Exit First

United had already begun “exploring options” for Rashford’s departure in January before the 27-year-old’s bombshell interview declaring his wish for a “new challenge” away from Old Trafford after being dropped by Ruben Amorim for the Manchester Derby.

Amorim omitted Rashford from the match-day squad for the trip to the Etihad on December 15 – a match United would emerge as 2-1 winners in a triumphant last-minute victory. The 39-year-old coach explained the decision was “not a disciplinary thing”, but rather to do with “standards” in training and off the pitch.

Two days later, Rashford released that explosive interview with journalist Henry Winter, revealing his wish to leave Old Trafford. The 27-year-old has not played a single minute under Amorim since.

However, the issues between the Portuguese coach and the English forward had begun privately weeks prior to this public breakdown, The Athletic reveals, and explain why the club had already put the wheels in motion of a January exit before Rashford asked for it.

Following a 4-0 victory over Everton on December 1, in which Rashford scored twice, Amorim “questioned” Rashford after hearing the 27-year-old had “been out in Manchester within 48 hours” of the game. The player “assured his manager that he had been misinformed” about the late night.

But a report relayed by The Peoples Person revealed this was a “heated” conversation with Rashford alleged to have asked Amorim if he was accusing of him being a “liar”.

Rashford was subsequently dropped for the next two Premier League fixtures – Arsenal and Nottingham Forest – in back-to-back defeats for United. He returned for the trip to Viktoria Plzen in the Europa League, delivering an abject display and being hauled off in the 56th minute.

Old Trafford sources reveal the 27-year-old then produced “a poor performance in training the day before the Manchester derby amid further concerns about his choices outside Carrington”. This drove Amorim’s decision to drop him for the crucial fixture.

In the weeks that followed, with the shadow of the bombshell interview hanging in the background, Amorim “did not see the desired improvement in Rashford’s output” and steadfastly refused to reverse his decision on the forward’s first-team inclusion.

Crucially, the executive branch at Old Trafford fully backed this decision in a way some previous United managers have not been by the club in power struggles with players. “United’s hierarchy…were willing to match their manager’s ruthlessness measure for measure,” The Athletic states.

However, the view of Rashford’s teammates offers the most telling perspective on this stand-off with both Amorim and the club’s rulers.

United Teammates Supported The Manager’s Decision

Dressing room sources reveal “many” of United’s players “understood the manager’s decision” – a damning indictment on the 27-year-old’s attitude and application away from the pitch, as those sharing the training pitch with him every day side with the view that he is not meeting the required standards.

If we adopt a cynical approach, Amorim could be accused of utilising Rashford as a sacrificial lamb to lay down the law to the rest of his newly adopted squad, making it crystal clear the levels of commitment he demands, regardless of whether the English forward actually fell foul of them or not.

Similarly, INEOS – who have implemented a host of brutal cost-cutting measures across the entire structure of the club – may have sensed their new head coach turning on an underperforming star with a mammoth wage packet and gone all in on the decision, primarily for the financial boost.

But there is no ulterior reason why Rashford’s teammates would agree with the 27-year-old’s exclusion for poor standards, other than it simply being true. And Amorim would not be the first coach to take ire with Rashford’s behaviour off the pitch.

Previous incumbents of the managerial role at United, Jose Mourinho and Erik ten Hag, both publicly questioned the Englishman’s application and attitude, while senior figures at Old Trafford hold long-standing concerns about repeated behavioural incidents.

Rashford Refused To Compromise On Wages

The Athletic reveals United believed Rashford’s public admission of wanting to leave meant the 27-year-old had “surrendered some leverage over the the finances of his potential exit.”

Rashford’s wages, worth “more than £325,000 a week when United are in the Champions League”, were the “greatest obstacle” to a departure with prospective suitors largely unwilling to meet this demand. And United hoped Rashford would be willing to compromise on his salary to help facilitate a move.

The Athletic writes, “It was felt by United that a resolution could be found quicker and Rashford would return to action sooner if he would agree to a loan club covering a significant proportion of his salary and forgo the rest, effectively taking him off United’s books until any loan ended.”

However Rashford refused, demanding his contract be “honoured” in full.

The deal to bring the forward to Villa Park will see Unai Emery’s side cover 75% of his wages, potentially rising to 90% based on performances. There has been no loan fee included as a result of the sheer cost of largely covering Rashford’s salary.

Emery is said to have been key to convincing Rashford to accepting the Villains’ proposal after personally pushing for the 27-year-old, who he considers to be “one of the world’s elite attacking players.” The Spaniard is “confident he will be able to bring Rashford back to his best” after a slot opened up in his attacking unit following Jhon Duran’s blockbuster move to the Saudi Pro League late in the January window.

A £40 million buy-option was included in the deal should Villa wish to exercise come the summer. It would constitute a significant boost to United’s finances given Rashford’s status as an academy player, as well as the prospect of shifting his salary off the wage bill permanently.

Though if the Birmingham club are willing to spend £40 million on a player who will turn 29 next year, with wage demands in excess of £300,000 a week, perhaps the loan move will have been a roaring success and there may be regret at the decision, and price tag, amongst Old Trafford executives.

The one person who will certainly not regret this particular exit will be Ruben Amorim, however.

The Portuguese coach has made it abundantly clear what he expects from his new squad and evidently retains the complete backing of the United hierarchy to enforce this. There is no player, regardless of academy status or wage packet, who will be allowed to fall foul of these standards.

Featured image Stephen Pond via Getty Images

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