Manchester United are stuck in 'no man's land': Marcus Rashford
What's the story
Marcus Rashford has criticized Manchester United's strategy in recent years, saying the club is "reactionary" and in "no man's land." The 27-year-old forward made the comments on the Rest is Football podcast with Gary Lineker and Sky Sports's Micah Richards. Rashford recently joined Barcelona on loan for the upcoming season after a successful stint at Aston Villa last season. Here's what the England international claimed.
Call for consistency
Rashford calls Manchester United 'reactionary'
Rashford stressed the need for Manchester United to adopt a consistent strategy, saying, "You see it with any team that's been successful over a period of time: they have principles that any coach that comes in, any player that comes in, has to align to these principles or be able to add to these principles." "Whereas at times I feel like United have just been: we're hungry to win, so we'll always try to adapt and to sign players that fit this system. But it's reactionary."
Words
'If your direction's always changing...'
Rashford said if a club's direction is always changing, one cannot earn success. "If your direction's always changing, you can't expect to be able to win the league. Yeah, you might win some cup tournaments, but it's because you do have a good coach and you do have good players and you have match winners in your team - you're not there by accident." "We've been way below where we deem United to be. But then if you take a step back, which I've been able to do, especially over the last six months - what do you expect?"
Transition talk
'To be in a transition, you have to start it'
Rashford also reflected on the ongoing transition at Manchester United, saying, "To start a transition, you have to make a plan and stick to it. So this is the thing that I feel - it's not easy. Because if it's not going well, the fans demand [change]." "But this is where I speak about being realistic with what your situation is. I feel like we've had that many different managers and different ideas and different strategies in order to win ... you end up in the middle of - you end up in no man's land."
Managerial influence
Rashford omits Amorim from list of influential managers
Rashford shared his thoughts on the managers who have influenced him most in his career. He named Louis van Gaal, Jose Mourinho, and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer as inspirations but omitted Ruben Amorim and his predecessor Erik ten Hag from the list. The forward also spoke about Mourinho's winning mentality at United, saying he was more focused on winning than playing well.
World Cup aspirations
Rashford opens up on World Cup selection
Rashford also spoke about how his move to Barcelona could affect his chances of making it into England's World Cup squad next summer. He was included in new head coach Thomas Tuchel's first Three Lions squad back in March but missed the June camp due to injury. The forward said he doesn't want to put too much pressure on the England set-up and is focused on hard work and performance.
Barca
Rashford joined Barcelona on loan
Last month, Rashford completed a season-long loan move to Barcelona, describing his new side as "a club where dreams come true". Man United and Barcelona agreed on a loan deal for the 2025/26 season with an option to buy him next summer. As per Sky Sports News, Barca can sign Rashford for £26m (€30m) next summer if they wish to. Barcelona are paying the full wages of Rashford, who took a pay cut.
Twitter Post
Barca's new number 14
Our new number 14: Marcus Rashford 💙❤️ pic.twitter.com/HPBX7HzEsF
— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) July 23, 2025