Marcus Rashford’s campaigning ‘was a bit too much for him’, suggests Wayne Rooney
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Marcus Rashford’s campaign “was too much for him” and he is better off “in a different headspace” at the World Cup, suggests Wayne Rooney, who says his former teammate should “focus on his football”.
Former England captain Wayne Rooney has claimed Marcus Rashford’s campaign was “too much for him” amid the striker’s recent change in form.
Rashford spent months lobbying for the government to take better care of children in Britain, and the 25-year-old campaigning for more free school meals had run into trouble when he was younger.
but through The timesRooney has urged his former team-mate to “just focus on his football” with Rashford, the joint top scorer at the World Cup so far and in fine form heading into the tournament’s round of 16.
Wayne Rooney has urged Marcus Rashford to ‘just focus on his football’ at the World Cup
The England striker has spent months lobbying for the government to take better care of children in Britain.
“It seems like Marcus is in a much better place in his head and the most important thing, to me, is that during Covid he did a lot of campaigning and got involved in a lot of things off the pitch,” Rooney said.
His achievements were incredible, but I think it might have been too much for him. Instead of just being able to focus on his football, there was a lot on his plate, whereas what we’ve seen this season is mostly focused on football rather than anything else. From some of the goals that he has scored, you can see that he is in a different headspace.
“I watched Marcus develop at Manchester United and there aren’t many players with his speed and run towards goal. You never know how much football players watch these days, but I know from being in camps that in tournaments you sit together to watch many group games.
He has enjoyed a good World Cup so far with three goals in as many games in Qatar.
His brace against Wales highlighted his recent return to form for both club and country.
England manager Gareth Southgate faces a selection dilemma ahead of the game against Senegal, with all of his forwards pushing for a starting job.
Rashford, Raheem Sterling, Jack Grealish, Callum Wilson, Bukayo Saka and Phil Foden have all found the net in the tournament so far, with captain Harry Kane the only striker yet to score.
Kane is sure to play, though, and has recorded three assists in as many Qatar games. And Rooney admitted that he thinks Rashford is the best striker to play him, before comparing him to French star Kylian Mbappe.
Rooney said his former teammate’s campaign “was too much for him” off the pitch.
‘You see his confidence and his willingness to run after. He always wants the ball,’ Rooney said. ‘That Marcus Rashford is a real asset to England.
‘If Harry Kane is going to drop deep and play through the balls, then Marcus, with those runs, is probably the best player for Harry to play.
“And I think, looking at France, Marcus will be looking at Kylian Mbappe and how, when he gets the ball down the left, he’s so quick and direct.” I think Marcus will look at Mbappé and think: “I can do that.”
The 25-year-old has also returned to form for Manchester United in recent months.