Marcus Rashford Defiantly Shrugs Off Manchester United Rejection

Marcus Rashford has shown up for Manchester United's pre-season training despite being stripped of his jersey number and facing pressure to leave the club, according to various media reports.

The homegrown talent departed United for the first time in his professional journey at the beginning of February, joining Aston Villa on loan for the remainder of the 2024–25 season. Unai Emery's team declined the opportunity to make Rashford's move permanent for a previously agreed £40 million ($54.4 million) transfer fee, leading to several weeks of uncertainty amid intense transfer rumors.

Barcelona remains a potential destination for Rashford—though whether the interest is reciprocated remains questionable. Bayern Munich has also emerged as a possible option. However, before finalizing any move to a new club, Rashford has returned to his original footballing home.

Just days after allegedly being granted permission to stay away from Carrington and focus on securing a transfer, Rashford appeared at United's training facility on Monday and Tuesday for pre-season preparations, initially reported by The Athletic.

The England striker was reportedly limited to individual training sessions, separated from the main squad which featured Matheus Cunha wearing the No. 10 jersey that was stripped from Rashford earlier this week.

According to the Daily Mail, Rashford was originally scheduled to rejoin the team after Ruben Amorim and the selected players had already departed for their U.S. pre-season tour. United will first travel to Stockholm before participating in the Premier League Summer Series tour in America.

The Manchester-born attacker allegedly "anticipated participating fully in pre-season" despite the club's continued rejection of his involvement.

Reports suggested that Rashford—along with Alejandro Garnacho, Antony, Jadon Sancho and Tyrell Malacia—had informed the club of their desire to leave. However, this claim has been strongly disputed.