Manchester United

Manchester United

Premier League • England

Gary Neville scolds Marcus Rashford over Man Utd behaviour as second star is given warning

Gary Neville and Marcus Rashford, Man Utd

Manchester United pair Marcus Rashford and Casemiro have been warned that their behaviour over the international break will have done them no favours with new boss Ruben Amorim and has told the duo they may have been wiser to stay a little closer to home over the past week.

Such has been the Red Devils’ struggles in recent times that both Rashford and Casemiro have found themselves overlooked by their two countries for recent international call-ups, with both England and Brazil deciding against bringing the experienced pair into their folds. And while questions over the long-term futures of both players at Manchester United have come into question lately, Neville believes neither did themselves any favours by taking long-haul flights to the USA last week.

Rashford was seen being escorted by bouncers in New York after attending a Knicks v Nets basketball game, while Casemiro posted pictures of him with his family at Disney World in Orlando.

Neville says he could not care less about Rashford’s attire, or on claims that he is ‘seeking attention’, but has said the pair may have been wise to consider staying closer to home over the past week to enhance their chances of impressing the new boss.

“It comes with the territory when you’re this sort of player and stature,” Neville said when asked about the attention Marcus Rashford has received on the It’s Called Soccer! podcast.

“I’ve got very little sympathy for players who are the stars who are on huge money, huge commercial contracts, they want that attention, they need it as that’s what fuels them and makes them the great players what they are and that’s what gives them that adrenaline rush, they’re going to get more attention, so I’ve got no problem with that and the attention he gets.

“I’ve got no problem with him going away in the international break and I’ve got no problem with the clothes that he wears, he can wear whatever he wants, the only thing I would say, and I’m saying this very calmly as I don’t want a ‘Neville hammers Rashford’ to be honest with you, as I’m not hammering him.”

READ MORE‘Privileged’ Man Utd star Rashford warned he faces brutal Amorim axe with new boss ‘ready to look for other options’

Neville wants Rashford to address those 1% changes to benefit his game

While Neville has gone to lengths to stress he is not hammering Rashford, nor wants the headlines to reflect that, he has told him how he can make those very minor adjustments to ensure his game is taken to the next level and eradicate those doubts that his career is on the decline.

“It’s been a very difficult period for the club and it’s been a very difficult period for Marcus Rashford. There was a player I used to play with that used to say, when times were tough that basically you go down to that extra level of detail in making sure everything’s perfect, you take the butter off your toast, you literally make sure you’re absolutely looking at every single 1% of detail you could.

“So I used to think standing in that tunnel when going through a difficult time, I’d think ‘right I’ve got to work my way out of this, I’ve got to be absolutely perfect’. Every drink, every sleep, every training session, every stretch, has just got to be absolutely perfect.

“So would I think the most relaxing way to spend your time, whether you’re Casemiro, and I’ll bring him into it, Casemiro is 30 odd years of age, Marcus Rashford is in his 20s, travelling 10 or 11 hours and I, to be fair, have done that quite a few times in the last few months, you get a bit of jet lag going to the US. So, a three, four-day jet lag-based trip, when you’ve got basically the idea of training and making sure you’re fit, I don’t personally think it’s the right choice of distance and choice of destination.

“If the New York Knicks were playing three or four hours away, with a one-hour time difference I’d say go for your life. But I think personally, If I was looking at being absolutely perfect in myself, and I maybe took professionalism to an obsessive level, I wouldn’t be on a 10-hour flight to a different time zone that was potentially going to cause me more of a problem.

“Physically from a tiredness perspective, at particularly this point where a manager has just been sacked and we’re going through a tough time and all eyes are on us. I’d lie low and I’d go somewhere and rest. There are some Manchester United players who have gone away for the international break, and you don’t know where they’ve gone, but they’re the clever ones in my mind.”

Latest Man Utd transfer news: Amorim green lights midfielder deal / Romano reveals priority signing

Amorim, meanwhile, has given United the green light to bring Angel Gomes back to Old Trafford in 2025, with sporting director Dan Ashworth now charged with beating Liverpool to the Lille midfielder’s signature.

Thankfully, though, it appears to be United’s deal to lose thanks to a significant hint from the player in question.

Elsewhere, Fabrizio Romano insists United’s main transfer focus will be on the recruitment of a new left-back, despite the Red Devils’ long-standing injury issues they soon set to clear up.

United are being strongly linked with a move for Alphonso Davies, though they do have other options in mind as well, with Amorim ready to put his focus into landing a new option there.

One man who may struggle to figure under the new regime is Joshua Zirkzee and now our correspondent Rudy Galetti has revealed the incentives Juventus are ready to offer United to part with their summer signing in the January window.

A declining talent? Rashford’s record for Man Utd over the years

Marcus Rashford
Marcus Rashford’s stats by season for Manchester United