Marcus Rashford says he was ‘on the verge of tears’ seeing the community response after abusive graffiti was daubed on a mural depicting him.
Police are investigating after the mural, in Withington, was scrawled with graffiti on Sunday night within an hour of England's penalty shoot-out defeat to Italy in the Euro 2020 final at Wembley.
The black and white mural is on the wall of Coffee House Café off Copson Street - an area close to where the England and Manchester United footballer lived with his family before moving to Wythenshawe.
Rashford, and his teammates Jadon Sancho and Bukayo Saka also suffered racist abuse on their social media accounts after failing from the penalty spot.
Now, in a moving message on Twitter, Rashford has thanked fans for all the messages of support he had received after being abused.
“I’ve grown into a sport where I expected to read things written about myself. Whether it be the colour of my skin, where I grew up, or, most recently, how I decide to spend my time off the pitch,” Rashford said, in reference to his campaign against homelessness and child hunger in the UK.
“I can take critique of my performance all day long, my penalty was not good enough, it should have gone in but I will never apologise for who I am and where I came from. I’ve felt no prouder moment than wearing those three lions on my chest and seeing my family cheer me on in a crowd of 10s of thousands.
“I dreamt of days like this. The messages I’ve received today have been positively overwhelming and seeing the response in Withington had me on the verge of tears. The communities that always wrapped their arms around me continue to hold me up.
“I’m Marcus Rashford, 23-year-old black man from Withington and Wythenshawe, South Manchester. If I have nothing else I have that.
“For all the kind messages thank you. I’ll be back stronger. We’ll be back stronger.”
The footballer also took the opportunity to apologise for his missed penalty, saying: “I felt as if I’d let everyone down.”
The Manchester United forward said: “I don’t even know where to start and I don’t even know how to put into words how I am feeling at this exact time.
“I’ve had a difficult season, I think that’s been clear for everyone to see and I probably went into that final with a lack of confidence. I’ve always backed myself for a penalty, but something didn’t feel quite right.
“During the long run-up I was saving myself a bit of time and unfortunately the result was not what I wanted. I felt as though I had let my team-mates down. I felt as if I’d let everyone down. A penalty was all I’d been asked to contribute for the team. I can score penalties in my sleep, so why not that one?
“It’s been playing in my head over and over since I struck the ball and there’s probably not a word to quite describe how it feels. Final. 55 years. 1 penalty. History. All I can say is sorry. I wish it had of gone differently.”
Rashford praised the England squad for building an “unbreakable” bond during the tournament.
He added: “Whilst I continue to say sorry I want to shout out my team-mates. This summer has been one of the best camps I’ve experienced and you’ve all played a role in that.
“A brotherhood has been built that is unbreakable. Your success is my success. Your failures are mine.”
