05 November 2023 , 08:26
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Gary Neville believes Marcus Rashford 's decision to attend a birthday bash after last weekend's Manchester derby was "a mistake" but refused to stick the boot in.
The Manchester United star attended a 26th birthday party in the town centre just hours after the Red Devils had been humbled by Manchester City at Old Trafford. His behaviour was later branded "unacceptable" by Erik ten Hag ahead of Saturday's slender win over Fulham, which Rashford missed with a knock.
As a club icon with over 600 appearances to his name, Neville knows all about the pressures of being in the public eye as a United player. And while he quipped that Rashford should have dropped him an invite to the bash - which took place at a venue close to Neville's house - he felt that the striker should have known better than to proceed with the party.
Speaking on The Gary Neville podcast, he said: "I've said this openly and publicly, if we lost any match - forget the Manchester derby - we wouldn't be seen for a week, two weeks. If we lost a match a night out would be cancelled. Simple as that. That was my rule, it was the rule in the dressing room: you could not be seen out in a public place if you'd lost a football match.
"You'd be bumping into people who have paid big money to watch the team play and they don't want to see you really enjoying yourselves and celebrating, it's an optics thing. So, I'm all for lads enjoying their lives and getting on with their lives but maybe thats just a night to sort of have a takeaway, maybe a glass of wine, bring your friends round to your house. Just optically it's not great I don't think if you're seen out at a nightclub in Manchester after a derby loss - I don't think it's right.
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"Erik ten Hag said it was a mistake, I would class it as a mistake as well. Marcus is from Manchester, I know it was his birthday and you've got to live, but it's a Manchester derby and you've just been beaten 3-0. The reality of it is the fans don't want to hear that you're out on the town."
Join the debate! What do you make of Rashford's decision to go out last week? Let us know here.
Gary Neville (Sky Sports)After stressing he wasn't having a "massive moan" at Rashford, Neville then added a light-hearted comment, saying: "If you want to keep the hassle away from your life and the media scrutiny away, if you want to have as peaceful a life as you can at Manchester United at the moment, you've just got to make sensible decisions and not ask for trouble.
"I think going to Chinawhite - which to be fair is only about 100 yards from where I live so he should have invited me by the way, I'd have come round and popped out - I genuinely think the wisest thing would have been to stay in."
Despite speculation to the contrary, Ten Hag hinted that Rashford would face no further punishment when he was asked if the forward would have started against Fulham had he been fit. The Dutchman told TNT Sports: "Yes because I think we have to close that case. I have said everything about it."