“You know what…” Rio Ferdinand agrees with Jadon Sancho following Marcus Rashford “freedom” message

Rio Ferdinand has agreed with Jadon Sancho following his controversial “freedom” comment under Marcus Rashford’s latest Instagram post.

Marcus Rashford embarked on a six-month loan move to Aston Villa last month and made his debut over the weekend in an FA Cup tie against Tottenham Hotspur.

Once the focal point of Manchester United’s attack, Rashford enjoyed a stunning 30-goal season under Erik ten Hag in 2022/23. However, his form has since declined, and he struggled for minutes under Rúben Amorim.

With Amad and Bruno Fernandes now key figures, Rashford had not featured for over six weeks before sealing his move to Villa Park.

A product of United’s academy, he made an unforgettable debut at 18, scoring twice against FC Midtjylland in the Europa League before adding another brace against Arsenal in the Premier League.

Since then, he has played over 420 times for United, scoring 138 goals and providing 63 assists, winning five major trophies along the way.

Ferdinand agrees with Sancho’s message

After Rashford’s debut for Villa, the winger posted some photos from the game on his social media, to which fellow United loanee Jadon Sancho commented “freedom”, which riled up many United fans.

However, former United defender Rio Ferdinand has agreed with the sentiment of Sancho’s claim, explaining that there are many examples of players thriving once they leave Old Trafford.

“You look at Antony, he’s got a man-of-the-match performance and a goal and assist in two games,’ Ferdinand said on his Rio Presents podcast.

“McTominay is playing like primetime Jude Bellingham at the moment. You’ve got Elanga, who’s a flying winger.

“You’ve got all these players that are leaving the club that are looking like new, dynamic footballers because the shackles are off, and the cloud and the pressure of Old Trafford, the badge, all that that brings, is allowing them to go, ‘You know what, wow, what a difference that is’.

“You’re probably going to see the same from Rashford. It’s about unlocking what has unlocked Old Trafford for these players to perform.”

Why United players perform better elsewhere

The reason behind why United players are often performing better elsewhere is because, throughout the last decade, the club have been purchasing players with no clear direction.

They have attempted to buy expensive and high-level talents such as Romelu Lukaku and Sancho and shoehorned them into systems that don’t suit them, which is poor recruitment.

Previous managers have also incorrectly used Academy players to fill in positions, such as McTominay being used as a defensive midfielder when he is better further up the field.

The lack of a consistent plan at Old Trafford across the decade has left many high-level talents to rot United, and once they leave for other clubs with better plans, environments, and systems, they can thrive as they’ve been properly recruited.

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