How Man United and Marcus Rashford can avoid a messy divorce and why we shouldn’t be surprised at the timing of his interview, writes CHRIS WHEELER

For a man who knew what was about to happen, Ruben Amorim seemed remarkably cheerful as he sat down in Carrington yesterday morning.

A smile for the cameras, a wave to a friendly Portuguese reporter he recognized at the back of the room, and then straight to work.

Question one: Marcus Rashford. Question two, Marcus Rashford – and so on.

Alejandro Garnacho and Mason Mount got brief looks, and Amorim was once asked about the issue of his lineups being leaked. Otherwise there was only one show in town and it certainly wasn’t the Carabao Cup quarter-final in Tottenham tonight.

Rashford was set to dominate the agenda from the moment an interview with the disillusioned United star surfaced on social media on Tuesday evening, in which he admitted he was ‘ready for a new challenge and the next steps’ in his career.

Although his comments blindsided the club and Amorim, the new head coach didn’t look too perturbed as he walked onto the training pitch, ready to answer the inevitable barrage of questions.

“I think he’s right,” said the 39-year-old before cleverly turning the issue of Rashford’s new challenge on its head.

‘We have a new challenge here. It’s a difficult one. For me this is the biggest challenge in football because we are in a difficult situation and I said this is one of the biggest clubs in the world. I really hope that all my players are ready for this new challenge.

‘Nothing has changed. We believe in Marcus. Marcus is a Manchester United player so there is no change.”

All delivered with an easy smile. Amorim’s personal skills are one of the reasons why United chose him to succeed the more authoritarian Erik ten Hag. If the club really wants to keep Rashford, he will have to use all his powers of persuasion.

Yesterday, Amorim hinted at his innermost thoughts only twice: when he admitted to being ’emotional’ about Rashford’s comments, and again when he agreed they would have been better expressed privately with his coach.

Beyond that, this was an exercise in smoothing over the issue, at least for now, and trying to keep the door open for a way back.

If Amorim’s explanation for dropping Rashford and Garnacho for Sunday’s Manchester derby – and what seemed like thinly veiled criticism of the way they dress and live off the pitch – had provoked the interview, there was an attempt to row back.

‘I’m talking about the way they dress, I just wanted to make a point. I don’t know how they dress, I just see them in the uniform,” he reasoned.

‘I don’t know how they eat, I don’t look at their plates. It was just to make a point. It was to emphasize the details. I expect the best from each of them to prepare for the match. My focus is on the game and getting the best out of Marcus.”

Can Amorim’s words get Rashford back into the side? Does the club even want Rashford back in the side? Or is it already too late?

Of course, United have been here before. It’s been two years since Cristiano Ronaldo gave an impressive TV interview to Piers Morgan criticizing every aspect of the club, and there was no looking back. Ronaldo’s contract was torn up and he moved to Saudi Arabia.

And again, this time last year, when Jadon Sancho’s feud with Ten Hag showed no signs of thawing, four months after the forward posted a message on social media essentially branding the United boss a liar. Sancho was loaned to Borussia Dortmund for the rest of the season and is now playing for Chelsea.

The same PR company that represents Ronaldo and Sancho also signed Rashford a year ago, so perhaps we shouldn’t be too surprised by the timing of his interview, just days before the January transfer window opens.

It is not the first time that Rashford has expressed doubts about his future at the club where he has spent 20 years since arriving at the age of seven. In March 2022, similar rumors believed to originate from his camp began circulating.

In retrospect, it would probably have been better if he had not signed that new £315,000-a-week contract in the summer of last year, making a mid-season exit from Old Trafford even harder to negotiate.

It came from a season with thirty goals, but since then only fifteen have followed in a season and a half. Rashford has struggled to justify his salary for some time now. All the while, the 27-year-old’s behavior has done little to dispel the impression that he would rather be anywhere other than United. Lifestyle issues have risen to the surface, some true and some not.

When Rashford was eliminated from the derby this weekend, the rumor mill was in full swing.

Because of the lives they lead and the money they earn, it’s easy to see footballers as different from the rest of us.

But as in most walks of life, when it is no longer practical for someone to be somewhere anymore, a solution can usually be found.

In United’s case, this happened not only with Ronaldo and Sancho, but also with Mason Greenwood and Alexis Sanchez.

Common sense prevails.

United have been open to selling Rashford for some time now and, despite Amorim’s words yesterday, they could well decide that parting ways is for the best. The club has sailed almost close to the wind in terms of Premier League profit and sustainability rules for the past three years, having made losses of £300m. Selling a homegrown player delivers a 100 percent profit on the balance sheet – about four times what you get. for other players.

It might be better to sell Rashford than Kobbie Mainoo or Garnacho, even if the latter pair’s lower earnings mean United are not in danger of having to pay them a significant reward.

That may be necessary for Rashford if his new club cannot afford to match his current earnings. However, this is unlikely to be an issue if he follows Ronaldo to Saudi Arabia, where the big four – Al Ittihad, Al Hilal, Al Nassr and Al Ahli – would welcome him with open arms.

A move there at this stage of Rashford’s career would once have seemed unthinkable, but he is just 19 months younger than Ivan Toney, who left Brentford to join Al Ahli in August.

Premier League rivals such as Chelsea, Tottenham, Arsenal and Manchester City – who twice tried to sign Rashford as a child – will all be looking for a new striker and are in roughly the same position financially.

Paris Saint-Germain have been continuously linked to Rashford for more than two years, perhaps encouraged by his representatives. The French champions are unlikely to make a bid in January, but it could be a different story if he is still at United next summer.

Then there is Spain, where Rashford has reportedly had ambitions to play for some time. It is difficult to see him joining Real Madrid’s star roster, but Barcelona have been long-time admirers and could be a more realistic option for him.

There are so many more questions than answers about Rashford at the moment, as Amorim expected when he arrived to speak to the press yesterday morning.

The United boss said he had not spoken to the player or the club’s hierarchy at the time as he tried in vain to steer the conversation towards tonight’s draw at Spurs as United look to win back the trophy they won in 2023.

“It’s a difficult situation to comment on,” Amorim smiled apologetically. Life at United must already seem a world away from Sporting Lisbon.

“If I attach a lot of importance to it, it will make big headlines. If I say it’s not a problem, my standards become low. So I’m going to work on that, I understand that.

‘What I’m saying is that the team is more important than the individual. We will assess it at the right time, that’s all.’