Gary Neville responds to Marcus Rashford "mistake" as Man Utd future questioned

07 November 2023 , 08:05

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Gary Neville responds to Marcus Rashford "mistake" as Man Utd future questioned

Gary Neville says Marcus Rashford made a "mistake" by publicly celebrating his birthday following Manchester United's harrowing derby defeat last month.

The England striker sparked controversy when he was spotted out celebrating his 26th birthday, just hours after his side had been humbled 3-0 at home against Manchester City. Rashford was joined by friends and family at a Chinese restaurant before heading to a nightclub, actions described last week as "unacceptable" United manager Erik ten Hag.

The player was then left out of Saturday's 1-0 win over Fulham, although Ten Hag himself insisted this was due to an injury issue and not disciplinary action. Still, speculation over the forward's career at Old Trafford is now rife - despite Rashford signing a new contract earlier this year - with fan channel The United Stand questioning his future on Monday.

Rashford himself responded by writing: “Please STOP spreading malicious rumours,” on social media. Now Neville has insisted he made a poor error of judgement in the aftermath of the City defeat, and recalled his own approach to defeats under Sir Alex Ferguson.

"If we lost a match, any match, forget about the Manchester derby where we wouldn't be seen for a week or two weeks, but if we lost a match, nights out were cancelled," he wrote in his Sky Sports column. "Simple as that. That was my rule and the rule for the other lads in the dressing room.

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"You couldn't be seen out in a public place if you lost a football match because to be fair, you would be bumping into people who had paid big money to watch the team play and they don't really want to see you enjoying yourselves and celebrating. It's an optics thing.

Gary Neville has has his say over the Marcus Rashford saga (Visionhaus/Getty Images)

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"Optically I don't think it looks great if you are seen in a nightclub in Manchester after a derby loss. I don't think it is right. Erik ten Hag said it was a mistake, I would class it as a mistake as well."

Rashford's birthday celebrations also came just three days before United hosted Newcastle in the Carabao Cup, a game the defending champions lost 3-0. Neville also added Rashford had not undertaken the "wisest decision" in terms of his preparation for the clash.

On the field, Rashford has struggled badly for goals in the Premier League this season, scoring just once. That's despite his best campaign in red in 2022/23, scoring 30 times in all competitions.

Fraser Watson