Roy Keane has urged Marcus Rashford not to forget that football takes priority over glamorous watches and flashy cars, after the Man United forward was spotted at a Belfast nightclub last week before missing training.
Footage emerged on social media showing the 26-year-old entering Thompsons Garage nightclub in Belfast before missing a training session in Carrington on Friday morning.
Erik ten Hag had stated that the official reason for his absence was due to ‘illness’, claiming that Rashford had done a ’12-hour tequila bender’ and then angered some of his teammates after being absent was at training.
The forward has now ‘taken responsibility’ for the incident, but former United captain Keane has urged Rashford to focus on his football.
Speaking about the Stick with the football podcastis sponsored by Sky betKeane said: ‘We talk about him (Marcus Rashford), he is a young boy, a lot of pressure and he is local, but it seems he is not enjoying his football anymore.
Roy Keane has urged Man United striker Marcus Rashford to put his football first
It comes after Rashford took the blame for missing training last week after he was spotted at a nightclub in Belfast
Rashford was spotted entering Thompsons Garage nightclub in Belfast last week
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‘It goes hand in hand, what happens outside and on the field.
‘Football seems like quite a challenge for him, and it doesn’t have to be that way. Everyone is under pressure, but he is a big player for Manchester United. He has already shown that he can produce.
He added: “The cars, the watches, that’s all great, but don’t forget what comes first: your football. Good luck with all those other things, but if that becomes more important than your football, then you have a problem.’
Rashford was not selected for Man United’s 4-2 FA Cup fourth round win against Newport County and his agent brother Dwaine Maynard held talks with the Man United boss on Monday.
On Wednesday, Ten Hag had declared that the ‘matter was now closed’ and echoed Keane’s comments that the 26-year-old should concentrate on football.
“First of all, the players at this level have to manage themselves, that is what you can expect from the player,” Ten Hag said at a press conference on Thursday prior to United’s match against Wolves. ‘The player must know what is good and what is not good.
Rashford was involved in a similar incident in October 2023, following Man United’s 3-0 defeat to City rivals Man City.
He had risked infuriating his manager after he was pictured heading to swanky Chinawhite nightclub in Manchester to celebrate his 26th birthday.
Ten Hag had stated after that incident: “I talked to him about it. It’s unacceptable. He apologized and that was it. For us it is an internal matter. He (Rashford) is very motivated to put things right. He is completely with us.
Thompsons Garage is located in the center of Belfast and is open seven nights a week
The striker, who owns a Lamborghini Urus, reportedly missed training due to an illness
The club has addressed the issue internally, but Keane believed playing football ‘seemed like a chore’ for the 26-year-old striker.
Keane also claimed his behavior was like that of an ‘idiot’ who claimed he had made too many mistakes too close together
Keane urged Rashford to put aside flashy cars and glamorous watches
Rashford had missed United’s match against Newport County last weekend, with Ten Hag calling on the striker to ‘focus on football’
‘He made a mistake, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t belong. I see him every day at training, I know what he does.’
Off the pitch, Rashford has previously been hailed as the first modern ‘activist footballer’, a millionaire, with a social conscience to match his brilliance on the football field.
Rashford had raised £20 million to fight poverty, put pressure on Downing Street over child hunger and was also appointed MBE by the Queen in 2020 for a campaign to help provide free school meals.
Despite this, Keane admitted that everyone makes mistakes. He stated that he never thought Rashford was perfect.
“I don’t think he (Marcus Rashford) has ever been that perfect,” he added on the podcast. “The things he did off the field that he gets a lot of credit for.
Rashford previously risked the wrath of Ten Hag after going on a night out following Man United’s 3-0 defeat to Man City in October
Rashford, who successfully campaigned during the coronavirus lockdown to force the British government to provide free food vouchers to poor families, appeared on the cover of Vogue in 2020
“I never thought he had a halo over his head, but I don’t for a minute think he’s some nasty guy either.
“I think he definitely made some mistakes that were very close together. The profile of Manchester United, the fact that United are struggling, he’s an easy target – his decision-making is clearly not very good at the moment.
‘He’s 26, we’ve been through it all and made crazy mistakes. I don’t think his attitude is one of not caring about the game, but his behavior is that of an idiot.
‘He makes a few mistakes on top of each other. He’s high profile now, we see people on their phones wanting to dial in and get players in trouble.
“He gives people the opportunity to root for him.”
Roy Keane and Ian Wright spoke at the Stick with the football podcastis sponsored by Sky bet.