Marcus Rashford’s Belfast bender has strained his relationship with Manchester United team-mates with his status as a senior figure in the dressing room tarnished
- Man United’s Marcus Rashford was dropped from the squad to face Newport County
- Some United players feel let down Rashford remained absent until the early hours
- Erik ten Hag has been misled. I don’t think anyone sees him staying at the end of the season… It’s all Kicking Off podcast
Marcus Rashford’s infamous tequila bender in Belfast has put a strain on his relationships with some of his Manchester United teammates.
It is understood Rashford’s status as a senior figure in the United dressing room has been tarnished by the incident which saw him dropped from the squad to face Newport County in the FA Cup last month.
Some players felt disappointed that Rashford had stayed in a bar in Belfast until the early hours and missed training at Carrington the next morning, and then tried to convince the club that this had happened 24 hours earlier, before a scheduled free day.
The England international wrote an article in the Players’ Tribune last week defending his commitment to United, but sources say the controversy has damaged his credibility in the eyes of some team-mates.
Manager Erik ten Hag was furious with Rashford’s antics, having already reprimanded the player during a nightclub visit in October.
Marcus Rashford’s late night in Belfast ahead of an FA Cup tie with Newport County continues to irritate some of his teammates
Rashford’s now infamous Belfast bender has tarnished his status in the United dressing room
Erik ten Hag wasn’t the only one who had a vague idea of Rashford’s 12-hour tequila bender
The two have moved on after a lucid meeting in Carrington and are now said to have little more than a working relationship.
Rashford scored a fantastic goal in the 3-1 defeat to Manchester City in the Etihad derby on Sunday, and Ten Hag will need more from the 26-year-old for the rest of the season as he battles to save his job.
United will take on Everton at Old Trafford on Saturday afternoon and want to close the gap with Tottenham and Aston Villa in the race for Champions League qualification.
Ten Hag’s team will next face Liverpool in the quarter-finals of the FA Cup, after beating Nottingham Forest in the fifth round last week.
Forest are investigating how a United fan gained access to the City Ground, posing as a steward, after home match tickets were canceled because he was identified as a United member or season ticket holder.
The supporter posted a video of himself wearing a hi-vis jacket and telling another steward he needed to use the toilet before being ushered into the empty stadium.
