Marcus Rashford has sent a direct message to former Manchester United captain Gary Neville, asking him to stop mentioning his name on podcasts, as the forward attempts to settle back into life at Old Trafford after a turbulent summer.
Rashford, 28, appeared to be heading for a permanent exit when he joined Barcelona on loan last summer, with a £26million deal expected to be made permanent. However, the Catalan club instead pursued Newcastle United winger Anthony Gordon, leaving Rashford's future in doubt. Despite an earlier expectation that he would leave, a lack of serious suitors willing to meet United's £40m asking price saw him rejoin Michael Carrick's squad.
Rashford responds to Neville and Carragher exchange
In a trailer for an upcoming episode of the podcast Stick To Football, Neville was keen to discuss Rashford, but was quickly shut down by fellow Sky Sports pundit Jamie Carragher. 'Marcus Rashford, what do we think? Last question,' Neville said before Carragher interjected: 'Oh f*****g hell, can we do a podcast without mentioning Rashford? Stop it! Oh my god. It's like the Trent and Rashford – there was like a little part of the podcast – the Trent part or the Rashford part. He's just a good player for Man United!'
Rashford responded to the video on X, writing: 'Thanks, Jamie. It would be great to be able to get my head down and play football without my name being mentioned every day.' The post, published on August 19, 2026, made clear his desire for a quieter period as he reintegrates into the squad.
Carrick and Rooney offer contrasting views on Rashford's return
Rashford came off the bench for a brief cameo against AC Milan last weekend and could feature in United's first Premier League encounter against Hull City on Saturday. Carrick, the United head coach, expressed optimism about the forward's return. 'He's a very good player, and I think if you're going to have a career over 10 or 15 years, there's going to be times when things go in a direction and maybe a different direction,' Carrick said. 'I think there are ups and downs, and that doesn't judge you as a one-off kind of judgment. It's what happens over time, and now we're in a positive place as a group, and Marcus can offer us so much. He has done, and he can do again, so in that respect, it's quite exciting. He came in, he's trained really well. I've known him a long time, like I've known some of the others a long time, so I don't treat him any different to anybody else, but it's been good to have him around the group again this week. So I'm really positive with that.'
Former United captain Wayne Rooney offered a more critical perspective, speaking on Stick To United. 'For me, has he got the hunger, does he want to play for Manchester United? You have to rebuild the relationship with the fans and the easiest way to do that is work hard and work on your body language,' Rooney said. 'You could have a bad game, you could give the ball away and make mistakes, but if the fans see you working hard and putting in a shift for the team, they'll accept that to a certain point. I think Marcus' body language, even when he came on, it isn't great. He might have to work with someone to make his body language look better. I think his work rate has to improve. If he wants to be at the football club, he just has to knuckle down. He's the one player that could go and get my goalscoring record.'
Impact on Rashford's season and United's plans
Rashford's return, driven by the failed Barcelona deal and the £40m asking price deterring other clubs, leaves him with an opportunity to revive his United career. Carrick's positive assessment of his training form suggests he may play a role in the early Premier League fixtures, while Rooney's comments highlight the pressure on the forward to demonstrate commitment and improve his work rate to rebuild trust with fans.
