Marcus Rashford's Man Utd team-mates are FUMING after forward admitted he wants 'a new challenge'

MARCUS RASHFORD has lost the dressing room after insisting he wants to leave Manchester United.

The wantaway star stunned his team-mates on Tuesday by saying he was ready for a “new challenge”.

2 Marcus Rashford has alienated his team-mates after saying he wants a new challenge Credit: Getty

2 Rashford's team-mates are fuming over his revelatory interview this week Credit: Reuters

It came just two days after boss Ruben Amorim dropped him from the squad for the derby clash with Manchester City.

United shocked their rivals by coming back from 1-0 down to win 2-1 after scoring twice in three minutes, including an injury-time winner from Amad Diallo.

Rashford, who was watching the game from home, later posted a picture on social media congratulating United.

His message was liked by several of his team-mates including captain Bruno Fernandes and defender Diogo Dalot.

But some of the squad were left dismayed when the 27-year-old striker gave an unauthorised interview during a surprise visit to his old primary school.

He said: “Personally, I think I’m ready for a new challenge and the next steps.”

The comments overshadowed United’s victory over City and also disrupted the mood of the camp ahead of the Carabao Cup quarter-final at Tottenham on Thursday, which they lost 4-3.

A source said: “Some of the players are really annoyed at what Marcus said and why he chose to say it at that time.

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“They were all buzzing after beating City and then he basically put in a transfer request after being dropped for one game.

“He’s not got many close friends in the squad anymore after the likes of Paul Pogba and Jesse Lingard left, so he’s pretty quiet and doesn’t really act as a leader.

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“More is expected of him but he doesn’t seem interested, despite having been in the first team for eight years.”

Rashford has scored 138 goals in 426 appearances for the club since making his debut in 2016, having come through the United academy.

He signed a £350,000-a-week contract after scoring 30 goals in the 2022-23 campaign. But he has struggled to replicate that form, scoring just four times in the Prem so far this season.

Manager Amorim has left the door open to Rashford staying.

Why Rashford joining Arsenal is perfect fit By Martin Lipton MARCUS RASHFORD is at a crossroads. But now the England star has to make the biggest choice he has ever faced - does he care about cash, or about his career? Rashford’s shock admission that he is “ready for a new challenge” after some two decades under the Manchester United umbrella has altered the dynamic around his future. That Rashford might not fit the blueprint of Ruben Amorim - who has now responded to Rashford's comments - was not exactly a surprise. The Portuguese coach prefers a 3-4-3 formation but appears to have settled on Rasmus Hojlund as his starting central striker and wants two “narrow” inside forwards, with the width coming from the wing-backs. Rashford has always wanted to play through the middle but is often at his best exploiting spaces out wide - and that skillset does not necessarily suit the way Amorim wants to play. Even so, going public with his evident dissatisfaction at being bombed entirely from the squad for the Manchester derby was a major move, even if he vowed there would be “no hard feelings” if he does leave his boyhood club. In truth, Rashford has been leaving United almost from the moment he signed that new £325,000 per week contract in 2023. Something was broken in his connection to the club. His form dropped, his threat dissipated, his issues with the hierarchy deepened. When Erik ten Hag dropped him for hosting a birthday party after a derby defeat, and he later pulled a sickie to miss the FA Cup game with Newport, it felt even then that the writing was on the wall. The facts suggest the love affair has ended. After scoring 30 in all competitions to earn that new deal, he has scored just 15 in the 18 months since it was signed. Amorim’s arrival seems merely to have accelerated what was increasingly inevitable. Now, though, it is up to Rashford to determine what his future will bring. If it is only about the money, then his options might be somewhat limited. It is hard to see a Prem rival coughing up the same £16.9m annual salary - although Rashford’s comments have probably knocked £20m-plus off any transfer fee, even next month. But Real Madrid have their fill of big-money strikers and Barcelona’s budget remains restricted by La Liga financial controls. In Europe, then, that probably leaves PSG - but a move to a one-club league. Or, in the wider world, he could follow the likes of Ivan Toney, Cristiano Ronaldo, Roberto Firmino and Co and head to the Saudi desert. Lucrative, yep. Certainly a different environment - and that may be exactly what Rashford both wants and needs. But the football? Not in a million years. What Rashford needs, above all, is to be able to play for trophies and showcase his talents. There is no better stage than the Premier League - which has far more global eyeballs on it than any other domestic competition. And in that Premier League there is one club crying out for a goalscoring No 9, especially if he can also play down the left channel to balance out the side and widen its threat. Rashford has always been more Longsight than London. Yet Arsenal, and Mikel Arteta, might be the perfect fit. The Gunners’ lack of a proper scorer is one of the major factors many fans feel has hurt their title challenge this year. Gabriel Jesus has never been a natural finisher, while Kai Havertz is still a converted midfielder. And while the link-up between Martin Odegaard and Bukayo Saka makes their right flank deadly, faith in Gabriel Martinelli on the left is waning. There have not been too many who succeeded at Arsenal after leaving United - although Danny Welbeck was not a flop. Rashford has all the attributes to change that history, if he can reproduce what everybody knows is inside him. And by breaking free, giving himself the chance to start all over, Rashford can make a point to Amorim that will resonate for a very long time.

He said: “This kind of club needs big talent and he’s a big talent, so he just needs to perform at the highest level and that is my focus. I just want to help Marcus.

“We are better with Marcus Rashford, that is simple and we will try different things to push Marcus to the best levels he showed in the past. And that’s all.”

Rashford, who was also left out of the squad at Spurs on Thursday, is fit for United’s Premier League game against Bournemouth at Old Trafford today.

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