Manchester City have – surprisingly – been linked with a move for Marcus Rashford.
The Daily Mail state that Dwaine Maynard – brother and agent of the England international – sat next to Hugo Viana and Txiki Begiristain at the recent Premier League clash between Manchester City and Aston Villa at the Etihad Stadium, which ended in a 2-1 win thanks to a late goal from Matheus Nunes.
It is said that Rashford wants to join a side who can offer UEFA Champions League football should he leave Old Trafford this summer, and is reluctant to move to London.
As the Manchester United academy graduate strangely finds himself linked to Manchester City, let’s take a look at what he has previously said about the Citizens.
What Marcus Rashford has said about Manchester City
It would be even more of a shock to see Rashford join Manchester City when you consider what the 27-year-old has previously said.
Photo by OLI SCARFF/AFP via Getty Images
The Aston Villa No.9 said back in June 2023 that is was “not nice” to see Manchester City win the treble, revealing: “To be honest, it’s not nice, but at the same time it’s football. 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.”
Rashford also spoke about Manchester City – who want Florian Wirtz – on the Uninterrupted podcast back in July 2022 when asked if there are any clubs he hates, saying: “Yeah Liverpool. I don’t like Liverpool. City.
“Liverpool have history so it’s a bit more bitter, but with City it’s like you don’t like them, but you don’t have a massive reason not to like them.”
Marcus Rashford doubled down when speaking to Gary Neville
Rashford – whose situation has been likened to that of Jack Grealish – expanded on this during a chat with Gary Neville on The Overlap in August 2023.
When asked who he dislikes more between Manchester City and Liverpool, the striker said: “Liverpool. I don’t like either of them. I dislike Liverpool more.”
By that logic, a move to Manchester City would be less of a surprise than a switch to Anfield, although either seem highly unlikely to ever materialise based on what Rashford has said.
Ultimately, Aston Villa hold a £40m option to buy Rashford from Manchester United this summer, so if the Villans qualify for the UEFA Champions League and keep the forward happy in the Midlands, we see no reason why that deal wouldn’t materialise.