Details have emerged of a verbal confrontation between Ruben Amorim and Marcus Rashford, that led to the latter being exiled from the Manchester United team.
Rashford has not featured for United since a bombshell interview in December, where he told a journalist that he was ready for a new challenge away from Old Trafford.
The forward has not played any of his side’s last 12 matches across all competitions. After last Sunday’s 1-0 win over Fulham, Amorim claimed that he would rather play United’s 63-year-old goalkeeping coach Jorge Vital ahead of a demotivated Rashford.
Amorim subsequently told the media that he could reinstate Rashford but only if the England international changes his ways.
There has been plenty of interest in Rashford but no club has made a concrete effort to secure his services, partly due to his mega wages.
There is still a chance he gets a move before the February 3 transfer deadline, with Aston Villa closing in on a loan agreement with United.
Now, The Sun reveal that Rashford and Amorim’s relationship was in tatters just days into the Portuguese coach’s tenure.
The troubles between them can be traced back to the days leading to the Red Devils’ 4-0 win over Everton on December 1 – a game Rashford scored twice in.
It’s understood that in a conversation before the game, Amorim accused Rashford of going on a night out. A claim Rashford vehemently denied, to the point of asking his manager to provide proof.
A source told The Sun, “Marcus got called in by Amorim who said he believed he had breached discipline by going out.”
“Marcus denied it and was adamant he had done nothing wrong. He asked the manager to show him the proof he’d been out and said something along the lines of, ‘Are you calling me a liar?’”
“Their relationship has never recovered, and it’s hard to see how it ever will now.”
The newspaper notes that Rashford believes Amorim is under orders from Sir Jim Ratcliffe, who wants his £325,000-a-week off the books.
The source added, “Marcus thinks Sir Jim wants him out of the club and has basically told head coach Ruben Amorim to get him out. He might just have met his match with Sir Jim. Marcus feels like he is being picked on.”
“In the early days of training under Amorim, he was trying to learn new systems and other players were also struggling — but he was the one who was getting more vocal criticism.”
“He knows he needs to leave but he’s shocked that no big team has pulled out all the stops to get him. There’s been interest but financially it’s a complicated deal and that’s put quite a few teams off.”
“Marcus has been left bewildered by how quickly his relationship with Amorim has disintegrated.”
Last year, Rashford was dropped by then-manager Erik ten Hag for an FA Cup meeting with Newport County after he was caught partying in Belfast hours before phoning the club to inform them he was too ill to train.
He was fined two weeks worth of wages.
Prior to that, Rashford also faced criticism from Ten Hag in October 2023 after he was seen partying on his 26th birthday, hours before United suffered a humbling loss at the hands of Manchester City.
United are back in action on Sunday when they host Crystal Palace. Kick-off is at 14:00 GMT.
Feature image Michael Regan via Getty Images
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Derick Kinoti
Derick Kinoti is a football writer at The Peoples Person who has covered Manchester United and the game extensively for many years. He is a keen analyst with expertise in SEO and journalism standards. Derick is convinced Wayne Rooney is the true GOAT and won’t hear otherwise!
