Marcus Rashford is ‘out of control’ and ‘has NO respect’ for Erik ten Hag or his Man United team-mates, claims Chris Sutton on It’s All Kicking Off… as pundit says the England forward thinks he’s ‘untouchable’ at Old Trafford

Another week, another problem for Erik ten Hag and Manchester United and this time it involves a familiar name.

Marcus Rashford’s apparent dissatisfaction with life at Old Trafford has come to a boil after he missed Sunday’s win at Newport following a trip to Belfast.

Rashford, we are told, was unwell last weekend and therefore not fit enough to travel to South Wales with Ten Hag and his team.

However, after being spotted in Belfast on Wednesday evening, it now appears the 26-year-old was also out and about in the Irish city on Thursday.

Since then, reports claim that Rashford was tequila-bending in the city for 12 hours on Thursday. A waitress told The Sun that the United star had been ‘drinking all day’ with his entourage and when he got back to his hotel at 3am he was so drunk he ‘passed out’ while fully clothed .

He then flew back to Manchester from Belfast on a private jet. He landed at 8am before calling in sick for training.

United manager Ten Hag did not deny that Rashford was out on both Wednesday and Thursday evenings, and did not take the opportunity to refute suggestions that his star player lied to him.

Unsurprisingly, the issue was a hot topic on today’s ‘It’s All Kicking Off’ podcast, with Mail Sport’s star columnist and Premier League winner Chris Sutton quick to slam Rashford over his alleged lack of discipline.

“Marcus Rashford is on par with quite a few Manchester United players at the moment,” said Sutton.

‘He thinks he’s untouchable. It 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.’

United sources told the media late last week that Rashford had become unwell after his night in Belfast on Wednesday and had missed training as a result.

After this, images of him also appeared in Ireland on Thursday. So far this has not been denied by Rashford or the club.

Rashford has previously been in the spotlight for the wrong reasons since Ten Hag became manager at the start of the 2022/2023 season.

Last season he was dropped from a game at Wolves after being late for a team meeting, while last autumn he was accosted by his manager after celebrating his birthday after playing in a United side that was outmatched and outclassed by Manchester City in a 3-0 derby defeat.

Speaking at IAKO, Mail Sport football editor Ian Ladyman wondered whether this might now be a case of ‘three strikes and out’ for Rashford.

“It’s unbelievable,” Sutton replied.

‘He’s 26 now, Marcus Rashford. He has such disrespect for the manager. He makes his feelings very clear, doesn’t he?

‘I feel sorry for Ten Hag, but essentially we know which way this is going. Ten Hag will eventually leave and Rashford will stay and all the Manchester United fans further down the line will love Marcus again because he is ‘Manchester United through and through’. But his actions have been completely disgraceful.”

Since his appointment at Ajax, Ten Hag has drawn a firm line in the sand in the pursuit of discipline and team harmony. He quickly put Cristiano Ronaldo ahead and has faced Jadon Sancho this season, who has been loaned to Borussia Dortmund after refusing to apologize for hitting out at his manager on social media.

“I’ll say a few things here,” Ladyman said on IAKO.

‘I don’t know what Rashford’s view is on this, whether he feels unfairly vilified, attacked or unfairly criticised. I actually do not know.

‘But what I do know is that there is a view within the football club at Manchester United that Rashford does not have a Ten Hag. That’s what they feel within that football club. That’s what they feel. That has been communicated to me.

‘And if that is the case, then it seems that Ten Hag is clearly prepared to die on this hill of discipline. We’ve seen it with Sancho. Now we’ve seen it with Rashford. And if he dies on this hill, and if he leaves the football club, respect him for that.

‘As for Rashford himself, my concern is that if he were to leave Manchester United – and he has a contract until 2028 – I think there is a danger of him disappearing.

‘And what I mean by that – hypothetically – is that if he goes to Chelsea, goes to Tottenham, goes to a club abroad, he could disappear into the void that a lot of former Manchester United players have fallen into before.

‘There’s a whole history of players leaving Manchester United and not doing so well, and he could be another one.’

Ten Hag’s team actually played quite well on Sunday by beating Newport 4-2 in the fourth round of the FA Cup. However, after the match, captain Bruno Fernandes criticized some of his teammates for being greedy.

“Everyone wanted to score and get their goal, but sometimes we don’t make the best decision for the team,” Fernandes said.

This perplexed Sutton, saying, “That’s quite remarkable. The Manchester United captain comes out publicly and tells everyone it’s every man for himself. That’s something he should say within the confines of the locker room. He just lets everyone know that something is wrong.”

United’s next appearance is against Wolves in the Premier League on Thursday evening. Whether Rashford is considered for selection will be telling, but Ladyman believes new United investor Jim Ratcliffe and new CEO Omar Berrada will have to address a host of team issues going forward.

“They’re going to have to replace a lot of players soon,” he said.

‘I know we don’t know what’s going to happen with Rashford, but Sancho isn’t coming back anytime soon. Mason Greenwood isn’t coming back. Jonny Evans has a short contract. How long will Casemiro be here? How long will Christian Eriksen be here? What about Rafael Varane?

‘All those players – even if only half of them leave – have to be replaced. They may not all be good enough or perform, but they are bodies in the team. They will have to be replaced.’