Ex-Man Utd star who clashed with Sir Alex Ferguson hits out at Marcus Rashford

31 January 2024 , 11:33

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Manchester United star Marcus Rashford (Image: Getty Images)

Former Manchester United striker Dimitar Berbatov says there is "no excuse" for Marcus Rashford's recent behaviour.

Rashford was spotted partying in Belfast last week, with reports claiming he enjoyed a 12-hour bender fuelled by tequila, before reporting ill to training the next day and then missing United's win over Newport in the FA Cup.

Following the match, manager Erik ten Hag said he would "deal" with it internally and United then released a statement on Monday evening saying Rashford had "taken responsibility for his actions" and that the matter was "now closed".

It is understood that Rashford has been fined two weeks wages and Berbatov, who clashed with Sir Alex Ferguson during his time at Old Trafford, has given his thoughts on the situation. Berbatov notably fell out with Ferguson after he was inexplicably left out of the squad for the 2011 Champions League final, with the forward leaving United the following year and refusing to say goodbye to the manager as he had "lost respect" for him.

Berbatov has since said that is something he will "always regret" and, when asked about Rashford skipping training, he told Betfair : "There is no excuse for it. I'd like to find an excuse because I'll always try to defend the players because I've been there. I know how it is, what it sometimes takes from you.

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"You want to relax - and you can do it - but only if you don't skip training the next day. From what I understand, he was not sick. It sounds like he didn't feel confident and fit enough to go to training, which doesn't look good for him in a professional way.

‌"First and foremost, you're a footballer and this is your number one priority, no matter what, you need to be at training when you're not sick or you don't have family problems. If you go partying and then the next day you don't go to training then I don't see how I can defend this behaviour.

‌"From what I saw from Ten Hag, you could see on his face that he was angry about the whole situation." However, Berbatov feels the entire situation is "out of character" for Rashford and has urged United to "find the answer to why he's behaving like this and help him".

Dimitar Berbatov has given his thoughts on Rashford's recent behaviour (Getty Images)

He added: "When someone isn't famous for disciplinary issues or different antics outside of the football pitch and they start acting like this in an unprofessional way, it's always surprising. You think about a player and then you see a different side to them when they act out of character.

"What's the reason for the change? There must be a reason. If United don't find the answer for this then this behaviour will continue. If United find the answer to why he's behaving like this and help him, then hopefully everything will go back to normal and he'll continue to play and be more focused and concentrated.

‌"People will be surprised but based on previous small misbehaviours, you can see something is there. I've spoken about his form on the pitch, he's been late to the team meeting before. So, something is there and until United don't fix it, I think his behaviour will continue like this."

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Matthew Cooper