Gary Neville has insisted it would be ‘best for both parties’ if Marcus Rashford leaves Manchester United after the forward revealed he is ready to depart his boyhood club.
Rashford was omitted from the United squad for the Manchester derby by Ruben Amorim on Sunday and did not travel down to London.
On Tuesday, the 27-year-old plunged his future at Old Trafford into doubt when revealing that he wants a ‘new challenge’.
The United striker, who made his first-team debut in 2016, also claimed that it was a matter of ‘when’ not ‘if’ regarding his departure when speaking to journalist Henry Winter.
Rashford was again left out of Amorim’s squad for the Carabao Cup quarter-final clash with Tottenham and Neville says it may not be long until he leaves the club.
‘I don’t think that academy players with great talent like Marcus should ever leave the club, I think you want to see players that have been there since they were eight stay there forever,’ Neville said on Sky Sports.
Gary Neville has insisted it would be ‘best for both parties’ if Marcus Rashford was to leave Manchester United
The forward has been left out of Ruben Amorim’s squad in the last two matches
‘I think now in the past few days it has got to a point where it maybe the best for both parties for it to end and maybe end quite quickly if it is going to go down this route.
‘Who knows, it could resolve itself. Ruben Amorim is saying the right things, but I suspect behind the scenes it is getting quite difficult.
‘He is not in the squad again tonight, that it two times he has not been in the squad and he is one of Man United’s star players, has been for a number of years.
‘Actions speak louder than words, while he is saying he has a future, he is not having him in the squad. Things aren’t going very well at all.
‘It is quite sad, as United had an unbelievable victory on Sunday and yet grabbed defeat from victory because the talk in the few days after is about this and not that Ruben Amorim’s got a sensational win under his belt.
‘He must feel empowered after that, after leaving the two players at home.’
On Monday, hometown boy Rashford, who has been at the club for two decades and scored 143 goals, was sent home sick from training.
Club policy is that those who are unwell should attend Carrington where they will be assessed by a doctor. Rashford was deemed to have a high temperature and left the complex.
Rashford has struggled this season, scoring only four Premier League goals in 15 games
Amorim has claimed that he does not want Rashford to leave the club despite dropping him
However, the following day he was at his old primary school, where he handed out 420 presents – and dropped a bombshell story.
The forward, who scored 30 goals in the 2022-23 season but who has just four Premier League strikes so far this campaign, poured out his soul to former Times journalist Winter.
Within a 1,021-word tweet on the exchange, Rashford said: ‘For me, personally, I think I’m ready for a new challenge and the next steps.
‘When I leave it’s going to be “no hard feelings”. You’re not going to have any negative comments from me about Manchester United. That’s me as a person.
‘If I know that a situation is already bad I’m not going to make it worse. I’ve seen how other players have left in the past and I don’t want to be that person. When I leave I’ll make a statement and it will be from me.’
When asked if he would always be a Red at heart, Rashford – who has been at the club from the age of seven and who made his debut in 2016 – replied: ‘Yes! 100 per cent. 100 per cent.’
United boss Amorim has since claimed that he wants Rashford to stay at the club, despite dropping him from the squad for the club’s dramatic win over Manchester City.
Nevertheless, the Portuguese coach wanted the forward to speak to him first before speaking out about his future to the public.
‘If this was me, probably I would speak with the manager, but let’s focus on Tottenham,’ said Amorim.
‘It’s hard to explain to you guys what I am going to do. I’m a little bit emotional so in the moment I will decide what to do.’
