Marcus Rashford has admitted that Manchester City completing the treble by winning the Champions League was a difficult moment for the Manchester United player.
The victory over Internazionale in Istanbul meant City joined their rivals, who since 1999 had been the only English club to have won the league, the FA Cup and the European Cup in the same season.
Rashford reflected on a bruising moment for the red half of the city. “To be honest, it’s not nice [to see City’s success] but at the same time it’s football,” Rashford said. “The best team that’s consistently playing the best football is going to win the most trophies and they’ve managed to win three this year.
“Well done to them and we just move on now and it’s up to them to keep it up, and it’s up to the rest of us to try and catch them up.” Asked if City’s achievements provide extra motivation, United’s homegrown forward said: “Yeah, 100%.”
Rashford also said he is fully committed to England and does not care if onlookers question his dedication to the national team. The 25-year-old is preparing for the Euro 2024 qualifiers against Malta and North Macedonia having withdrawn from March’s meet-up through injury.
The forward has had to pull out of numerous camps over the years but his decision to head to New York while England were winning their Group C opener 2-1 in Italy sparked debate. The national team coach, Gareth Southgate, defended the 51-cap forward’s decision to fly to the US at the time and the forward says he was unmoved by critical voices.
“I didn’t see it, to be honest with you,” he said. “I didn’t see it until I got home. I needed time to switch off and recover, so I took a short trip, four days, then went back to do rehab and just try and get ready as soon as possible. With injuries, you can’t predict when they’re going to happen.
“Thankfully I have very few muscle strains and those type of injuries, but occasionally you do get impact injuries. The majority of my injuries have been that.” Asked if people questioning his commitment to playing for his country hurt, Rashford replied: “Honestly, it doesn’t. I know that I’m committed to it 100%, people are going to say what they’re going to say. It doesn’t really bother me.”
