Fear for Marcus Rashford after binge drinking, love split & 'warning' from Ten Hag

IT wasn't until last summer that striker Marcus Rashford had the world at his feet, but critics say he has now lost control.

The boyhood years Manchester United fan had just signed a new five-year £325,000-a-week contract running until 2028 – giving him a guaranteed salary of £84.5 million.

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All he had to do was keep performing on the field.

Smiling for the camera with boss Erik ten Hag, he said at the time: “I am going to do everything I can to help the team reach the level we are capable of. I couldn't be more excited about the future under this manager.”

But for the first time, his future at Old Trafford is being seriously questioned by fans and critics after he attended the club the night before training and called in sick.

Ex-Premier League star and BBC pundit Chris Sutton told the It's All Kicking Off podcast yesterday: 'He thinks he's untouchable.

'This is not the first time he has committed a crime. It has been continuous. He has no respect for the manager and no respect for his teammates. That is the starting point.

“He probably thinks he can last longer than Ten Hag, but as far as I can see he is out of control.”

Fellow BBC pundit and Newcastle legend Alan Shearer added: “Something is wrong – at home or in his relationship with the club.

“He can't keep doing this, he can't keep wasting his talent. He needs strong management, someone who can get hold of him and tell him that he will regret it immensely at the end of his career if he continues to do this.”

Rashford's latest actions posed a huge challenge for disciplinarian Ten Hag, who has already put his foot down on stars Cristiano Ronaldo and Jadon Sancho and forced them out of the club.

The only thing that can save his future at the club in the longer term is a sincere apology to the Dutchman and the fact that United are in dire need of attacking options.

An Instagram apology to the fans will no doubt follow and a promise to improve on his tally of four goals in 26 appearances this season.

But the signs of a troubled life off the pitch were already there before United announced the 26-year-old had signed a new contract in July last year after a fantastic season saw him score 30 goals in 56 games.

A month earlier, The Sun told how Rashford had split from his fiancée Lucia Loi, his school sweetheart. The news came forward after he was seen walking into a Miami hotel with personal trainer Courtney Caldwell while on vacation.

Rashford subsequently appeared to be one of the players warned by Ten Hag ahead of this season that they needed to live their lives well, both on and off the pitch.

He said, “If you don't live the right life, you will be killed. What is important? Sleep, recovery, nutrition. Three key areas and if you don't get this right you won't be able to perform.

“So if you ask me about Rashford, the same goes for Rapha Varane and every player. You don't reach the levels if you don't do things right.”

When asked directly: “Is there a concern that Marcus or any other player has a problem with their lifestyle?”, Ten Hag refused to take a step back.

He replied: “When I joined Man United the standards generally weren't good. That's true.

“I demand the highest standards in sleep, recovery and nutrition because that makes the difference between being able to perform every third or fourth day. At Man United we demand the highest standards.”

Rashford should not have been surprised by the warning as Ten Hag previously dropped him from the starting line-up against Wolves in December 2022 for being late for a team meeting.

He responded by coming on as a substitute and scoring the winner, later insisting in an interview that he understood the decision.

He said: “I never made anything of it because if I had been a coach I would have done the same thing.”

But in June 2023, his personal life was thrown into question when he was spotted in Malibu, California, with American Caldwell and Love Island's Natalia Zoppa.

And three months later he set his £700,000 Rolls-Royce on fire.

Then, in October 2023, he incurred the wrath of Ten Hag again when he decided to go to Chinawhite nightclub in Manchester to celebrate his birthday after United were beaten 3-0 by rivals Man City.

Ten Hag later said: “I talked to him about it. It's unacceptable. He apologized and that was it. For us it is an internal matter. He is very motivated to put things right.” That night out came nine days after his brother Dane was arrested on suspicion of assault while on holiday with his partner in Miami.

The Rashford family closed ranks, but Dane's mugshot appeared online the following month, causing a rift between Dane and Marcus' other brother, Dwaine Maynard, who looks after his career.

A source said: “The arrest was embarrassing and has caused a lot of problems within the family. Marcus is in the middle of it all and tries to keep everyone happy, which makes him unhappy.” Dane has since been cleared of any wrongdoing.

But the Rashford family suffered another blow when a cousin died. Marcus paid tribute to him by looking up at the family. sky after scoring. Marcus must now regain Ten Hag's trust and simplify his life outside of football.

Many fans are baffled that things have gone so wrong for the footballer, who in the eyes of the public could do no wrong early in his career.

He received a lot of praise for it charity working and campaigning against food poverty. This led to him being awarded an MBE in 2020, when he was 22. He successfully lobbied the government during the government's term. pandemic to reverse his policy of quitting free school meals for primary school age children summer holidays.

And his motivational children's book You are a Champion was named Book of the Year in 2022.

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