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From rise, to ruin and finally redemption, Marcus Rashford's career has been anything but ordinary. As a Manchester United academy product he was supposed to be the star of the new generation, leading the Red Devils to Premier League and Champions League glory, but injury, setbacks and abuse at international level have taken his career path in a very different direction. Now, in LaLiga with Barcelona, he looks to have finally found the stage to show his very best self.
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This is the story of how Marcus Rashford went from breakout star to cultural icon
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from injury setbacks to international failure, and why, despite everything, his name still demands respect
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But Rashford's free! And Rashford finishes! Rashford scores! Danane's across to Rashford
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Rashford! Now in 2025, Rashford is no longer the teenage sensation with the weight of Man United on his shoulders
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He's a Barcelona player with the rare opportunity to rebuild his story on a new stage
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But way before he arrived at the Camnoo, he was a young first-team hopeful
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preparing to sit on the bench for Europa League tie against FC Midtjylland, unaware that the evening's events would turn him into an overnight sensation
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and become the now-renowned starting point of his career. towards Memphis bouncing around
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matter to cut it back again and Rashford has got the dream goal
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that he was looking for in his debut and one he will never ever forget
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clever movement so far from Manchester United and there he is again
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Marcus Rashford he couldn't have even dreamt that last night two goals on his first night in senior football
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and that was just the start of the week days later Arsenal were the visitors in the Premier League
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in again there's two goals within a few days the teenager from withenshaw had gone from academy
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hopeful to united's greatest hope but what stuck most wasn't just the goals it was the utter
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the fearlessness of his play at just 18 years old. He was running at defenders twice his size
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finishing like he'd been doing it for years, moving with such confidence you'd never been
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able to tell that he was making just his second senior appearance. As with many young players who
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burst onto the scene at a young age, you've got to cut them some slack when not everything goes
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right. The early spark can fizzle, the output can vary sometimes minute to minute, never mind game
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to game, but with Rashford this didn't really seem to happen. He wasn't just a one-week wonder
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He went on to score the only goal in the Manchester Derby that season, becoming the youngest player to do so in history
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before leading the line in the 2016 FA Cup final, winning his first trophy
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Even as Zlatan and Lukaku arrived at the club in the following years, Rashford still found himself getting regular game time
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albeit in a left-wing position under Mourinho, where he scored in a Europa League knockout against Anderlecht and won against Celta Vigo
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before helping United to lift that trophy in Stockholm. Now, there was care taken over his minutes at such a young age
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something that Rashford had to contend with. But what was clear in these formative years was his knack for delivering when the stakes were high in the biggest moments He wasn polished yet his decision sometimes raw but he carried this United DNA Bold direct unafraid
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It was traits that saw him take the next step towards becoming a United legend
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one memorable night in Paris. Well, it looks like mission impossible for Manchester United
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with at least two goals needed tonight. It's Lukaku and he's around the goalkeeper and he's squeezed it in
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He's gone right away through and Van Boudet with a tap in
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Oh, they've got another one. And it's him again, Romelu Lukaku. Penalty
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It's a penalty to Manchester United. It comes down to Marcus Rashford against Gianluigi Buffon
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How's your bottle? Oh, he smashed it in. United heading through to the quarterfinals
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Marcus Rashford, the coolest man in the place. The winning penalty away at PSG in the Champions League knockouts
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It was Rashford's defining moment. A statement that he wasn't just a prospect anymore
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He was a match winner at the elite level. This was the night his reputation went global
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And yet from this point on, the way of expectation grew heavier
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Every miss, every dip in form would be scrutinized twice as hard, especially in England
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But let's be honest, the fans and the media aren't exactly the kindest, almost forgiving to their own
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as Rashford was to find out both on and off the pitch. Rashford's England career runs pretty much parallel to his story at club level
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and the two have seemingly always had an effect on one another. At the 2018 World Cup, he was the wildcard off the bench
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and by Euro 2020, he was an established starter. And then Wembley happened
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The European Championship final, the shootout. Rashford, Sancho, Saka all missed, and England lost
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Instead of being remembered for helping the team to a final, Rashford was subjected to the most vile disgusting racist abuse losing in the final was for England
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and pretty much anyone else obviously not ideal losing on penalties was a tale as old as time
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but what the final also represented was the culmination of what had been a turbulent time
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for everyone in the UK where COVID had robbed most people of their lives as they knew it and
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amplified the struggles faced by millions up and down the country without regular income or access
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to healthcare. So this was the light at the end of the tunnel, a footballing success to bring the
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nation back together, if only for a month. It was the summer where quarantine was lifted and fans
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could attend football matches again, even if it was in smaller numbers than before. And then the
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loss to Italy. It just seemed like the frustrated football fan needed a face to turn their anger
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towards, whether it be a politician, a footballer, someone with any sort of celebrity. Which is
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unfortunately exactly where Marcus Rashford found himself by this point. He was a popular figure
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using his platform to force the government U on helping to fight child hunger in the UK and to help feed millions of school children He was given an MBE at 23 Critics said he was distracted gave it this old stick to football
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rubbish, but all he was doing was standing up for himself and others like him. His response
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was always the same. This is who I am. This is what I stand for. For kids growing up on
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the stakes like Withenshaw, Rashford wasn't just a homegrown hero that had made it at United
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He was proof that you could make it and still fight for the people who might not
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Sadly, like in so many and too many cases, many of these racist offenders went unpunished
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all whilst Rashford himself fronted up, owned the missed penalty and moved forward
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Like Rooney vs Portugal or Beckham in 1998, Rashford carried the weight of a nation's anger and survived it
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Video aside for a second, did you know that the Premier League rights are worth an eye-watering £6.7 billion over the next four years
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In the UK, there's 215 games live split between Sky Sports and TNT Sports
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where subscribing to both would cost you upwards of £60. But due to the broadcast blackout, you still can't even watch the Saturday 3 o'clock kickoffs
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Outside the UK, though, it's a very different story. For example, in the US and Australia, you can watch every single Premier League match
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with subscriptions costing you less. But regardless of which service you have, if you're abroad at any point during the season
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you can always use a VPN to unblock your usual streaming services
7:15
A little advice though, free VPNs aren't reliable for bypassing jail restrictions and they can even harm your internet security
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So it's worth getting a good one. And according to our brainy office mates at TechRadar, NordVPN is the best on the market
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And right now, there's a great deal that nets you 70% off
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All you have to do is click the link in the description below and sign up to get started
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That way, the next time you're traveling abroad, you just turn on your NordVPN and unblock your usual stream from anywhere
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Right, back to the video. His career after this, though, felt like watching someone take a long while to get over a bad experience
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21-22 was brutal. Injuries, form gone, confidence shattered, just five goals all season
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Fans were divided. Some wanted him drop permanently, sold. Others pleaded for patience
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He was often booed at Old Trafford, and it looked like his United story might be drifting away
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But under Eric Ten Hag, he came alive again. 22, 23, 30 goals across all competitions
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The best season of his career. He dragged United to the League Cup, their first trophy in years
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For the fans, it was a little bit complicated. He was no longer the untouchable golden boy, but like Rooney, he kept writing comebacks into his story
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That relationship of love, disappointment, then redemption, it's part of what makes Rashford feel so Manchester United
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The truth is, though, that form is fragile. The following saw a dip
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United struggled, Rashford looked isolated again and criticism resurfaced. Was he inconsistent or
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simply human I think a major sticking point for so many fans at this stage was the new contract he signed in 2023 a five deal worth per week It placed him as one of the league top earners and given the impression that he was the present
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and the future of the club. So for that money, you'd expect a lot as a fan. I get it. You'd expect
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more than some inconsistent performances. The red card versus Copenhagen, the birthday bash in the
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wake of a Manchester derby defeat. He called in sick for an FA Cup game, which led to Ten Hag again
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having to discipline him and then as new manager Ruben Amorim came in it was a matter of months
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before Rashford was frozen out the squad altogether for being someone who doesn't give the maximum
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every day according to Amorim. The writing was on the wall but after an uninspiring loan to Aston Villa
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nobody could have predicted where he would end up. Goal. Wonderful, wonderful goal
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Messi, Messi, Messi, Messi, Messi, Messi. Immense Messi. Goal, goal, goal, goal, goal, goal, goal, goal, goal, goal, goal, goal, goal, goal, goal
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When the news broke, it all felt a bit surreal, to be honest. Marcus Rashford, the Manchester United Academy kid
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the face of the club for almost a decade, leaving Old Trafford for Barcelona
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Not as a prospect, not as a gamble, but as a statement signing. From the moment he walked out in those famous colours
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it looks ripe. He's floating between lines, linking with Jamal and Pedri, pressing high
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playing with joy. The goals at Newcastle in the Champions League, the complete epitome
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of what you'd expect from him. Of course, it's early days, we all know that, but sometimes
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you can just feel when a move fits. For the first time in years, the noise has somewhat faded
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No tabloid headlines, no tactical blame games, just pure football. And maybe that's all he ever
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needed a place to play. Marcus Rashford of Barcelona isn't a farewell to his United story
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it's the start of something new. A reminder that through all the chaos, he's still got chapters left
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to write. So where does that leave Marcus Rashford? A decade on from that dream debut, he's evolved
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from the academy prodigy to a symbol of a generation. He's been a match winner, a campaigner, a target
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and a hero, sometimes all in the same season. His story's never been simple, but that's what made it
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real across more than 460 senior appearances he scored over 160 goals and provided 70 assists
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he's lifted an fa cup two league cups a europa league or manchester united for england he's got
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over 60 cap and scored 17 goals for all the noise all the criticism man all the pressure that's
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followed him since he was a teenager one truth remains when marcus rashford is playing freely
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when he's fearless when he's direct when he's got the ball at his feet he changes football matches
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Marcus Rashford, respect the name
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