Rashford details motivation for shunning Ronaldo and Rooney at Man Utd

29 February 2024 , 19:14

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Wayne Rooney and Marcus Rashford played together when the latter first burst onto the scene

Marcus Rashford admits as a youngster he chose not to take a picture with Cristiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney - instead determined he would be their team-mate one day.

The striker came through the club's academy at a time when Rooney and Ronaldo were the team's two biggest names, helping inspire them to a hat-trick of Premier League titles as well as the Champions League. The duo paid a visit to the youth stars, with several seizing on photo opportunities.

Rashford chose not to however, claiming he was the only player to turn down the chance. His family questioned why he'd say no to a once in a lifetime chance, but the youngster was adamant he'd been rubbing shoulders with the pair later in his career.

He said in The Players' Tribune: "For me, even at 11 years old, playing for United was my only goal. I remember around that time, when I was still trying to get signed, Wazza and Cristiano came by to do something with all the academy lads, and I was just looking at them in awe, you know what I mean?

"They had a photographer there, and at the end all us kids had a chance to get a picture with them, and I remember hanging in the back away from everyone. I remember my brother saying, 'Go take a picture with Wazza, bro! What are you doing???' I said, 'I don’t need a picture.' He said, 'Don’t need a picture???' I said, 'I’m going to be playing alongside them some day'."

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Rashford's declaration proved to be right. He made his debut in a Europa League outing in 2016, scoring twice as he begun to play alongside Rooney. The pair were team-mates for the latter part of Louis van Gaal's reign and the first year of Jose Mourinho's tenure, before Rooney was sold to Everton.

Any hopes of playing with Ronaldo looked to have past until 2021 when the Portuguese star made a sensational return to Old Trafford. Ronaldo's time at Juventus had turned sour and United swooped in to complete one of the shock moves on the summer.

Marcus Rashford has cited Cristiano Ronaldo as his idol (Getty Images)

The five-time Ballon d'Or winner spent 18 months back in Manchester, but struggled to have the same impact as his first spell. He topped the goalscoring charts in his first season before an explosive TV interview saw United terminate his contract.

Rashford previously said on Ronaldo: "It has been an unbelievable experience to play with him. He is one of my idols and someone I always looked up to. It's something I can keep with me forever, I wish him all the best and we want to thank him for the things he’s done for Man United"

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Samuel Meade