Marcus Rashford‘s career has taken a fresh twist. Almost two months on from first being frozen out of the Manchester United first-team by Ruben Amorim for failing to match expected standards, a move away from his boyhood club is complete.
The England international has joined Aston Villa on loan until the end of the season and sources have told ESPN the deal contains an option to make the transfer permanent.
As an academy-graduate who is 13th on their list of all-time goalscrores, Rashford has been one of the faces of United over the past decade and his exit will reverberate around the club.
ESPN takes a look at his career and how it has reached this point.
February 2015: Man United debut
Rashford’s Man United debut was the stuff of dreams. The then-18-year-old was a last-minute addition to the starting lineup against Midtjylland in the Europa League after Anthony Martial was injured in the warmup.
United were on the brink of elimination going into the final half-hour, with the aggregate score at 3-2. Enter Rashford, who wrote himself into United folklore with a 12-minute brace to seal their progression into the next round.
February 2015: Premier League debut goal
There was no stopping Rashford once he had liftoff. Three days on from the Midtjyland game, he made his Premier League debut against Arsenal, where he scored another brace and bagged an assist in a 3-2 win.
The mix of disbelief and euphoria on his face as he celebrated his second goal was reflected by those in Old Trafford that afternoon. Seemingly overnight, a star was born.
March 2016: Creating history in the Manchester derby
At 18 years and 141 days, Marcus Rashford became the youngest scorer in the history of the Manchester derby when he scored the only goal at the Etihad Stadium.
While his previous goals had demonstrated his eye for goal, this one — particularly the second touch to escape Martin Demichellis — was the first glimpse of his rapid pace.
May 2016: England goal on debut
Rashford continued his penchance for debut goals, getting on the scoresheet three minutes into his England appearance against Australia.
England boss Roy Hodgson named him in England’s Euro 2016 squad, where he made appearances off the bench against Wales and Iceland.
2017: Europa League and Carabao Cup wins
Rashford’s first full season as a Man United player ended with silverware, with the club winning the Europa League and Carabao Cup.
He was a mainstay during both cup campaigns, and scored important goals in the quarterfinal and semifinal on the way to European glory.
July 2018: World Cup penalty vs Colombia in shootout
The forward helped create history with England at the 2018 World Cup, when he dispatched his penalty in the shootout win against Colombia in the round of 16.
It was England’s first-ever penalty shootout win and secured their spot in the quarterfinals for the first time in 12 years.
March 2019: Stoppage-time winner against PSG
Rashford showed nerves of steel as he scored a stoppage-time penalty against PSG in the Champions League round of 16 to complete a famous comeback.
PSG, who were 3-2 up on aggregate in the tie, were moments away from a quarterfinal spot before United were handed a late penalty for a handball. Rashford smashed his penalty into the top-corner to send the red end of the Parc des Princes into delirium.
So seismic was the comeback that it saw United hand caretaker Ole Gunnar Solksjaer the manager job on a full-time basis.
November 2021: Received a MBE
The forward was awarded the MBE for his immense campaigning efforts to ensure that school children received meals over holidays during the COVID-19 pandemic.
In 2020, the British Government repealed a program that saw school children receive free meal vouchers during the summer. Rashford, a previous beneficiary of these meal vouchers, began a campaign that raised about £20 million ($24.6m) to ensure children didn’t go hungry. His efforts, which also included an open letter to MPs, eventually saw the government reinstate the program.
July 2021: Penalty miss in Euro 2020 final
Euro 2020 was one to forget for Rashford. He struggled to force himself into England’s starting lineup through the tournament but the nadir came in the final. He was brought on in the final minute of extra time as one of the designated penalty takers for the subsequent shootout, but saw his effort strike the post.
Along with Bukayo Saka and Jadon Sancho — both of whom also missed their penalties — Rashford received a torrent of racist abuse following the final.
Goalscoring feats in 2022-23 season
The 2022-23 season remains the zenith of Rashford’s career. He scored 30 goals in all competitions and notched nine assists as Man United finished third in the Premier League. He scored six goals in their Carabao Cup-winning campaign, including a strike in the final against Newcastle United.
In the 2022 FIFA World Cup — which took place in the middle of the season — Rashford was England’s joint-highest scorer with three goals.
January 2024: Disciplinary issues under Ten Hag
The 2022-23 season was expected to be a launchpad for Rashford’s career. It is what made the dropoff the following season so stark. He managed just eight goals in all competitions but it was actions off the field that proved more concerning.
He was dropped for an FA Cup game against Newport County after being spotted at a nightclub in Belfast, hours before he was supposed to report to training. This incident came a few months on from having to apologise to Erik ten Hag for attending a birthday party soon a dispiriting 3-0 defeat to Manchester City.
December 2024: Frozen out by Amorim
The sacking of Ten Hag and subsequent appointment of Ruben Amorim was expected to give Rashford the chance to turn a page. However, the Portuguese’s appointment appears to have signified the end of his Old Trafford chapter.
Despite scoring twice in his first two games under Amorim, he was dropped from United’s squad altogether for the Manchester derby was did not make another appearance for the club for almost two months.
February 2025: Joins Aston Villa on loan
With Amorim seemingly offering the England international no way route back into United’s matchday squads and even saying he would rather pick 63-year-old goalkeeping coach Jorge Vital than Rashford as a result of continuing concerns over the 27-year-old’s standards, he joined Aston Villa on loan until the end of the 2024-25 season.
Sources have told ESPN the deal contains an option to make the transfer permanent.
Rashford’s departure, though temporary for the meantime, seems likely to spell the end of his 20-year association with United after he came through the club’s academy and broke into the first team at the age of 18.
