Ole Gunnar Solskjær has sympathised with his former Manchester United star Marcus Rashford, and stated that he could ‘see something’s wrong’ towards the end of his spell as United manager.
Marcus Rashford has really started to kick on away in Barcelona after almost a year since his last appearance for his parent club, Manchester United. The 28-year-old has started ramping up his output for Barcelona, racking up three goals and three assists in his last five matches.
There has been a lot of discourse around Rashford for a while now, as the player lost his place in the England squad during his final year at United, as well as being banished from the squad by Rúben Amorim.
However, his brilliant performances in Spain have returned him to St George’s to represent his country once again.
The English winger was replaced at Old Trafford by Matheus Cunha, who was the first summer signing for Amorim, but has clearly found his feet abroad.
Furthermore, with all to play for on the left wing for England, Rashford has a real chance to be an integral part of Tuchel’s plans, despite being excluded from the Euro 2024.
Solskjær sympathises with Rashford
In an interview on the Stick to Football YouTube channel, Ole Gunnar Solskjær spoke about the 28-year-old, stating that although he does not know the reasons for Rashford’s final few seasons at United, he seemed to issue a dig at Amorim by saying that it should have been the managers job to help solve Rashford’s problems, rather than kick him out of the club.
“I’ve not spoken to Marcus since I’ve left. I text him a little bit, but circumstances,” The United striker legend said.
“I don’t know what’s happened in his life, but you can see he’s certainly enjoying it now in Barcelona.
“It looked like he didn’t enjoy himself here. I don’t think that’s just at Man United, it’s everywhere. All the pressures, every single one is different, we don’t know what’s happened to the players when they walk in in the morning, grumpy, that’s the manager’s job: ‘what’s up? I can see something’s wrong.’
“I go back to Erling Haaland, just the energy that he shows all the time, when he’s on the pitch, he shows that enthusiasm and energy, that’s the least. But what is it? Life? Too many games? We don’t know, but he’s found the right balance.”
Is Solskjær right?
Solskjær rattled off several reasons that may have impacted the Englishman’s performances on the pitch, suggesting that external factors contributed to his demise at his boyhood club.
The Norwegian has always said in interviews that he would never badmouth anyone after leaving United because that is not the person he is; therefore, when discussing his former players, he tends to speak in their favour.
Read more: Barcelona hatch Manchester United summer transfer plan as Marcus Rashford strategy outlined
For a player who grew up loving the club and being a huge fan, 100 per cent effort and a true desire to win for your club should be a bare minimum standard, and Rashford’s efforts started to be called into question.
It is great to see Rashford now thriving in his new environment, but there will always be huge question marks surrounding his latter years at United, and where it all went wrong.
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