Less than a year after he was awarded Manchester United’s player of the season trophy and after he signed one of the biggest contracts in the history of the club, Marcus Rashford has been declared “For Sale”.
You read that right. The 26-year-old honorary doctor of philosophy, who has been at Manchester United since he was six years old, has now been considered surplus to requirements at Old Trafford.
The strange decision was reportedly taken by the INEOS Group led by Sir Jim Ratcliffe, as they begin the process of weeding the club ahead of next season.
Ratcliffe has made it clear through various interviews that his tenure as the club’s football boss will be unforgiving. He will not hesitate to do away with elements he considers unscrupulous and will work towards bringing in the most disciplined players and managers that will return United to its glory days.
Several departures among the staff and players have been planned and several hires have already been made. Several more departures and hires are cooking but Rashford being placed on the departure list is something nobody saw coming.
The England international has been out of sorts this season after scoring 30 goals to become United’s highest goal scorer. His goals last season was the first time in his career he hit the 30-goal seasonal milestone and was also the first time in almost a decade that a Manchester United player achieved that feat. Now, he looks like a shadow of himself, with only eight goals in 38 total appearances across all competitions.
Fans are surprised by this decision even though many have expressed strong feelings towards the player’s seeming lack of motivation or interest in the club. It is even more surprising that INEOS wants £100 million for Rashford.
His contract, which was signed after his groundbreaking 2022/23 season, will run until 2028. This is the rationale behind their requesting a nine-figure transfer fee from interested clubs. However, it is uncertain if any club will be willing to pay that much for Rashford, who is valued at £63 million by Transfermarkt and other transfer data collection platforms.
You will recall that Paris Saint-Germain and Barcelona were once interested in the player. It was reported a while back that Rashford had even agreed terms with the Catalan club but United blocked the move. Barcelona are still in the market for a left winger which could see INEOS try to get Deco, Joan Laporta and co back on the phone to do business.
PSG, meanwhile, will be losing Kylian Mbappe at the end of the season. Rashford may just become an option again for them with there being a scarcity of talented and prominent left wingers who can be marquee signings.
Is Sir Ratcliffe making a rash decision? The 2024/25 summer transfer window will tell.
