Rob DawsonApr 21, 2025, 03:30 PM ET
The Etihad Stadium has been the setting for some of Marcus Rashford's most memorable highlights. Like nutmegging defender Martin Demichelis to score in his first Manchester derby as a teenager in March 2016. Or his nerveless penalty in another derby win for Manchester United in December 2019. Last season, he scored arguably the best goal of his career with a fierce shot that crashed in off the underside of the crossbar.
It was almost unimaginable then -- a little over a year ago -- that it could be his last appearance in a Manchester derby, but he returns to the Etihad on Tuesday as an Aston Villa player with his career at a crossroads.
Rashford is guaranteed to spend the next month with Unai Emery's side after agreeing a loan move in January until the end of the season, and his form -- three goals and five assists in 16 appearances -- even earned him an England recall in March 2025 after a period of exile.
What happens beyond that is up in the air.
His options are fairly clear: stay at Villa, agree another loan move (which requires an agreement over splitting his salary), make a permanent move to a different club altogether or return to United. Sources have told ESPN said another loan move has not been ruled out, as spending a season away would get the majority of Rashford's wages off the books and eat up another year of his contract. Moving to Villa Park permanently, meanwhile, would either require Rashford to take a pay cut -- something he was reluctant to do in January -- or for United to pay up part of his current contract.
Overall, Rashford's salary of around £350k-a-week remains a significant issue. Aston Villa -- who have been happy with Rashford's commitment and dedication in training and games -- have an option to make his move permanent for £40m, which in itself is not a problem. But they can't afford to commit to a four or five-year contract that would be worth tens of millions.
United's summer budget is already tight, but they might be backed into a corner if Amorim makes it clear there is no way back. There may yet have to be an uneasy truce during the summer -- similar to the one that saw Ten Hag briefly make peace with Jadon Sancho -- while the details of a move are thrashed out.
An explanation of how Rashford got here, however, depends on who you ask.
United's staff have known for a while that his discipline and focus can fluctuate wildly. In the summer of 2022, he spend his time away from the team at Nike headquarters in Beaverton, Ore. to undergo a specifically tailored programme to focus on his fitness. He was up at 5 a.m. most mornings to train, either in the gym or outside on the grass pitches with a ball, and when he returned to Carrington to meet new manager Erik ten Hag for the first time, the Dutchman and his staff were suitably impressed.
It was no surprise to those around the club that Rashford went from scoring five goals in 32 games during a disappointing 2021-22 campaign to reaching 30 goals in all competitions for the first time the following season. But by the summer of 2023, Ten Hag had noticed enough of a dip in Rashford's standards to issue a warning during his first news conference of United's preseason tour.
Asked a generic question about Rashford's importance ahead of the new season, Ten Hag said the striker must have "the right attitude." More telling, he went on to say that "players can't match the sensational life and play top football."
Rashford, apparently, didn't listen and seven months later, he had to be disciplined for an unauthorised trip to a Belfast nightclub the night before he was due to report to training. That infraction came not long after Ten Hag had branded Rashford's behaviour as "unacceptable" after he had chosen to host a birthday party in Manchester just hours after a heavy defeat to City.
Some staff at United can trace his shift in focus back to losing a key advisor, who worked tirelessly to protect him from distractions off the field and also played a central role in the campaign to fund school meals during the Coronavirus pandemic. The change in his attitude, according to club sources, was summed up in the immediate aftermath of Ruben Amorim's appointment in November.
When Ten Hag came in, Rashford made a point of returning early, fit and fresh. Amorim arrived during a winter international break and having not been selected by England, Rashford decided to take a holiday in the U.S. instead. Sources familiar with the situation say he didn't technically break any rules, but rather took advantage of the change of regime: Ruud van Nistelrooy had already signed off from his caretaker spell, and Amorim hadn't had yet time to set his own regulations.
The Portuguese coach publicly played down the criticism of Rashford's trip, but it didn't go down well. Sources close to Amorim said the incident only served to reinforce what he already knew.
After agreeing to take the job, he set about doing research on all the players he was about to inherit, and the disclosures on Rashford were mixed at best. There were reports of mood swings and petulance that had frustrated other United managers. On one occasion, Rashford left the engine of his car running while fulfilling media duties despite being told it might be best to turn it off because the upcoming weekend was being used to promote the Premier League's climate change campaign.
Some of the stories, according to team sources, led Amorim to believe that Rashford was fortunate to still be at the club -- let alone be offered a lucrative new contract in July 2023. At the time, United believed investing heavily in Rashford was worth any associated risk. He was the club's undisputed star in terms of media interest and shirt sales, and he'd just completed his best season as a professional, with 30 goals and nine assists in 56 appearances across all competitions.
The expectation was that Rashford would continue on his upward trajectory. He was initially given the benefit of the doubt -- starting and scoring in Amorim's first game against Ipswich -- but it didn't last long. Amorim and his staff quickly became irked by some of Rashford's lacklustre performances in training, and they believed they had the data to back it up.
During a Europa League trip to FC Viktoria Plzen in December, Rashford was needlessly booked just before half-time. He dived into another challenge soon after the break and was substituted shortly afterwards. Sources said the incident annoyed Amorim because it was something Rashford had been warned about before. Dropped for the Manchester derby at the Etihad three days later, he hasn't played for United since.
Rashford reportedly believes Amorim has got the wrong impression and disputes the idea he doesn't work as hard as he could or that he can, at times, appear disconnected with the rest of the dressing room. There's also a feeling that the spotlight shines more brightly on him than on anyone else, as shown by the volume of media coverage about his personal life since he burst onto the scene at 18. The club investigated reports of his behaviour away from Carrington during Ten Hag's time in charge and found many accusations to be baseless.
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Hutchison: Aston Villa should break the bank to sign Rashford
Don Hutchison tells Alexis Nunes that Aston villa should pull out all the stops to try and bring Marcus Rashford to the club permanently from Manchester United.
According to sources, Rashford remained professional during his spell out of the team under Amorim and took on extra training/gym sessions to try to win him over. Only it didn't work, with Amorim since telling people close to him that the decision to let Rashford leave was "easy."
Rashford, according to those close to him, hasn't given up hope of returning to United. There's an acceptance that the loan move to Villa has done him good, but he remains open in terms of what happens next. There was interest from Borussia Dortmund and AC Milan in January and tentative conversations with Barcelona. Milan, according to sources, were only willing to pay half of Rashford's wage. Dortmund couldn't even match that. Juventus enquired about the financial commitment they would need to make and immediately walked away.
United have tried to be as diplomatic as possible so as not to burn any bridges. Club communication staff have managed questions about Rashford's departure carefully and on one occasion, they asked for quotes on the subject from Amorim to be toned down. It's not unusual for the club to ask for part of interviews to be pulled, and the situation with Rashford is particularly delicate. The view from inside United is that they must prepare for every eventuality ahead of what is a crucial summer for the club and for Rashford.
On Tuesday, Rashford will return to Manchester for the first time since his United exile when Villa take on City at the Etihad on Tuesday. Whether he's back again in the summer remains undecided.
