“Certain lines get crossed”: Defiant Marcus Rashford hits out at media for unfair criticism – Man United News And Transfer News

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Manchester United star Marcus Rashford has slammed the media for their unfair treatment of him which is often unwarranted and at times, not even directly related to his football.

This season especially, Rashford has on multiple occasions found himself on the wrong end of criticism from the media and a section of TV pundits.

While some of it has been justified, sometimes it has undoubtedly gone overboard. This is something Rashford noted during an interview with The Players Tribune.

The forward said that while he can stomach public hits, the one thing he certainly can’t tolerate is his commitment to United being questioned.

“I don’t normally like to respond to things said about me. It’s not in my nature. I’m an introvert. I don’t even like talking about myself, unless I really know you. So 99% of the time, I can ignore the noise. But sometimes, certain lines get crossed, and I can’t help but want people to just understand who I am as a person.”

“I’m not trying to have a go at the media. I understand the game, you know what I mean? They’re not really writing about me. It’s like they’re writing about this character, “Marcus Rashford.” It can’t just be about me as a 26-year-old lad on a night out, or a lad getting a parking ticket.”

“It’s got to be about how much my car costs, guessing my weekly salary, my jewelry or even my tattoos. It’s got to be about my body language, and questioning my morals, and speculating about my family, and my football future. There’s a tone to it that you don’t get with all footballers. Let’s just leave it at that.”

He explained that in his thinking, some of the unfair treatment he receives goes back to the pandemic when he tried to use his voice and influence as a medium for change.

According to Rashford, his efforts at lending a helping hand to the less fortunate in society “rubbed certain people the wrong way” and since then, they’ve had it out for him.

The 26-year-old added, “Listen, I’m not a perfect person. When I make a mistake, I’ll be the first one to put my hand up and say that I need to do better. But if you ever question my commitment to Man United, that’s when I have to speak up. It’s like somebody questioning my entire identity, and everything I stand for as a man.”

“They want to talk about cars? Imagine being 5, 6, 7 years old and taking four different buses across town to get to training at The Cliff. That’s not an exaggeration. Ask my mum. Somebody had to take off work to go with me because nobody had a car in our family. Nobody even had a license.”

The England international pointed out that his desire to feature in the United senior team motivated him to brave the difficulties of his early days such as walking to the other side of town and getting a bus just to get to play football. He noted that his mother supported him all through and waited for him for hours while he trained, even though she didn’t know much about the sport.

He emphasised that United is his boyhood club and during his younger days, he and his family turned down life-changing sums of money to realise his dream of sporting the United badge.

Rashford and United return to action this weekend when they make their way to the Etihad to take on Manchester City.