Inside Marcus Rashford’s rise and fall ahead of his ‘fresh start’ at Aston Villa: Child-poverty hero was a free-scoring star – but now fans are concerned after ‘rough’ unveiling, Man United exile, car crash and failed Love Island ‘romance’

A new home, and hopefully a new dawn for Marcus Rashford.

Less than a month after shocking world football by revealing his desire to leave Manchester United, the 27-year-old star has made for the Old Trafford exit, calling an end to what has been, without question, the most turbulent spell of his career so far.

Admitting in a post on social media that it came as an ‘easy decision’, Rashford has signed for Aston Villa on a short-term loan until the end of the season, with a £40million buy option included in his deal this summer.

Few players in history have 60 senior England caps to their name and almost 150 goals for Manchester United. By these parameters, Rashford shares the company of some of football’s all-time greats, including Sir Bobby Charlton and Wayne Rooney.

Glancing at his record on paper, Villa have lured an elite forward with experience and pedigree at the highest level for a fee that, in today’s market, seems largely inexpensive.

And for Rashford, he’s moving to a club that is on the rise and offering knockout Champions League football, with a top coach in Unai Emery who has coached some of the world’s best players including Neymar and Kylian Mbappe.

Yet, despite the move appearing to suit both parties, there’s an overwhelming sense of regret at Rashford’s departure.

Manchester United legend Gary Neville spoke poignantly when reflecting on the move on Sunday, admitting it left him with a ‘tinge of sadness’.

His sentiments will be shared by several Manchester United fans, who watched Rashford play a major role at Old Trafford over the last nine years, only to pen to paper with another Premier League rival. 

‘Thinking of Marcus Rashford as an eight, nine-year-old United academy player, given a big contract a couple of years ago, scoring 30 goals a couple of years ago and being on top of his game, on and off the pitch, but the deterioration in the last couple of years has been alarming,’ he said on The Gary Neville Podcast.

‘It is an absolute must that he has to get out of Manchester United and Old Trafford, and I feel sad saying that even a few weeks ago, let alone a few months ago.’

So what went wrong for Manchester United’s star forward? The roots of his demise seem to dig significantly deeper than falling out with new Red Devils boss Ruben Amorim, who has exiled the forward ever since his bombshell admission at the start of January.

Just two seasons ago under Erik ten Hag, Rashford was United’s primary source of goals. His tally of 29 across all competitions, including 17 in the Premier League, propelled United to a third place finish behind Manchester City and Arsenal — a position that Red Devils fans would be ecstatic about at the present time.

His season-best total was not a one-off either. Rashford had already demonstrated an ability to score in droves in the Premier League, having netted 17 in the competition back in 2019-20.

And for all his impact on the pitch, the England international arguably made a bigger influence off it during his highly successful spell, endearing himself to fans after launching a deeply personal crusade against former Prime Minister Boris Johnson to persuade the Government to reverse their decision on school meal vouchers.

Thanks to Rashford, who endured a difficult upbringing as one of five children raised by a single mother, his campaign guaranteed 1.3million children school meals during the summer holidays back in 2020.

It led to the England international being made an MBE (Member of the Order of the British Empire) in 2021.

His form on the pitch and ambassadorial presence off it led to Manchester United offering Rashford a reported weekly wage of £325,000 in the summer of 2023, just months after he registered his season-best total in front of goal.

Since becoming one of the Red Devils’ highest earners, the goals have dried up for Rashford and his performances have wilted by comparison, leading to him falling drastically in the pecking order, first under Ten Hag and later Amorim.

Ahead of his upcoming Aston Villa debut, Rashford has scored just 11 Premier League goals across two seasons since signing the deal, six fewer than he managed during his career-high campaign.

But Rashford’s demise at Old Trafford cannot only be put down to his waning form on the football pitch. 

The star was surprisingly dropped by Ten Hag last season due to an ‘internal disciplinary issue’, which was later revealed as an error in timekeeping. United’s former lynchpin revealed he was axed from the matchday squad against Wolves for oversleeping and arriving late to a team meeting.

Rashford later found himself in Ten Hag’s bad books after what has been described as a ’12-hour tequila bender’ in Belfast back in January 2024.

Man United legend Roy Keane slammed Rashford for his behaviour and choices after footage emerged on social media of the United forward entering the Thompsons Garage nightclub in Belfast – before missing a training session at Carrington the following morning.

Ten Hag had stated that the official reason for his absence was due to ‘illness’, but reports at the time claimed he had angered several of his team-mates after being absent from training. 

Earlier this season, he sparked controversy for jetting over to the United States to watch an NBA game at Madison Square Gardens after failing to make the England squad under interim manager Lee Carsley.

Neville questioned the star’s professionalism and admitted he was disappointed in Rashford, who opted to go on holiday rather than stay in Manchester ahead of Amorim’s imminent arrival.

‘The professionalism, looking after your body and making sure you’re best prepared for the next training session is critical to every decision you make during the season,’ Neville said.

‘He has got a mental break, he’s got to get away and has got to rest with friends – then you talk about the choice of venue, how far do you fly, what’s the time difference, is that going to give a jet lag issue, is that going to give a stiffness issue from being on a flight for 12 hours?’

The forward, who caught the eye with a glitzy new set of grills at Madison Square Gardens, was joined by his friend Ro-Shaun Williams – the former Red Devils academy team-mate who accompanied Rashford on his Belfast bender.

Reports of Rashford’s life away from the football pitch continued to find its way into the papers in the months that followed.

Just a month after his trip to New York, the player was reportedly dumped by Love Island All Stars contestant Grace Jackson, who claimed Rashford had ‘not been serious about the relationship’. However, a spokesperson close to the footballer denied they were ever together in November.

Rashford had previously been in a long-term relationship with childhood sweetheart Lucia Loi before they split over the summer of 2023. 

Given the 27-year-old had endured an eventful and difficult few months off the pitch at Manchester United, several fans raised concerns on social media over Rashford’s appearance during his unveiling at Aston Villa on Sunday.

Supporters claimed he looked ‘rough’ and ‘unhealthy’ while signing on the dotted line and holding up his new Aston Villa shirt, shocked by how much his appearance had changed since his last game against Viktoria Plzen in the Europa League in December.

The footballer did appear in high spirits just days before his move to Aston Villa was confirmed, smiling and laughing with team-mates during a training session at Carrington before United’s disappointing 2-0 defeat against Crystal Palace on Sunday.

Now his Manchester United exit is confirmed, there are bound to be plenty more smiles at Villa Park as Rashford looks to revive his career. 

With a passionate fanbase, experienced coach and historic club behind him, Rashford has all the tools at his disposal to get back to the top of world football.