Striker Marcus Rashford has responded to criticism and doubts about his commitment to Man.United. The English striker suffered a major decline not long after becoming the club’s highest-paid employee, and gave coach Erik ten Hag a headache due to disciplinary issues this season.
The 26-year-old English striker missed Man.United’s 4-2 win over Newport County in the FA Cup fourth round this month, days after being seen at a nightclub in Belfast. Rashford experienced the most explosive season of his career, scoring 30 goals last season, but only scored 5 goals for Man.United this season. All that decline came right after he signed a new 5-year contract, which saw his salary nearly double to £375,000/week, equivalent to £8.4 million/year – also the highest remuneration in the team. . But Rashford believes he has been treated unfairly by the media for criticizing him.
“When I make a mistake, I will be the first to raise my hand and say I need to do better. But if you question my commitment to Man United, that’s when I have to speak up,” the striker shared on The Players’ Tribune. “I grew up here. I have played for this club since I was a boy. My family turned me down for life-changing money when I was young just so I could wear this badge on my chest. If you doubt my commitment to this club and my love for football, I just ask you to be a little more humane.”
Rashford received much praise during the Covid-19 pandemic when he launched a campaign to help poor children with food. Man.United’s best player of the season last season believes that his work off the field also receives a lot of criticism. “I just try to go out of my way to make sure the kids don’t go hungry, because I know exactly what that feels like. For some reason, this seems to have made some people feel uncomfortable. It was like they were waiting for me to have a “human moment” so they could point their fingers and say, ‘See? See who he really is?
Rashford’s decline is also considered a main reason why Man.United is having a disappointing season, currently ranked 6th in the Premier League and 8 points behind the top 4. But Rashford added: “I promise you! The world has not seen the best of this Man.United team, and these players. We want to get back to playing in the Champions League, then we will have a big international tournament at the end of the season. We will return to where we belong. We have to keep working and that starts with me.”
