Richie Maidment ®

Everybody dies but not everybody lives #MUFC

[Cristiano Ronaldo @Cristiano]

Michael Carrick was a class act as a player and he can become a great coach as well. Nothing is impossible for this guy. Personally, I’m proud to have played with him by my side as well as with him as a manager on our bench. 🙌🏽👊🏽

[Richie Maidment ® @RichieM88]

Everton
Man City
Aston Villa (pending last game v them Sunday)

The only premier league clubs, excluding relegated teams, that have failed to beat Man United this season?!
#MUFC

[Richie Maidment ® @RichieM88]

#YTFC

[Kieran Maguire @KieranMaguire]

Yeovil Town lost £2.8 million in 23/24

[Kieran Maguire @KieranMaguire]

Yeovil Town lost £2.8 million in 23/24

[Bashy McMesh @BashyMc1]

Can not stop laughing at the intensity of this hahaha

[Richie Maidment ® @RichieM88]

@SaeedTV_ @LukePuplett88

[Football on TNT Sports @footballontnt]

Paul Scholes plays ‘Keep or Sell’ and gives his verdict on Antony 👀

[Gaz @CantonaManc]

He’s been told to find another club, end of. Never had what it takes to be a senior player at United, an average footballer with a very good PR team. You feel sad when good players/characters leave, this feels like relief.

[Richie Maidment ® @RichieM88]

@nick4768 Really don’t care. Just be glad to see him moved on!

[Richie Maidment ® @RichieM88]

Thank him for his ‘service’ wish him well and sale him to reinvest in a player who not only has talent but works hard and doesn’t mope about on the pitch every week. 🚮 #MUFC

[Henry Winter @henrywinter]

Marcus Rashford had a day off today so he returned to his old primary school, Button Lane, south Manchester, and handed out 420 Christmas presents to all the pupils. It was a long-planned event, eliciting delight from the children. One boy scarcely more than four years old, had a special message for the Manchester United striker. “Thank you for the food as well, Marcus.”

Rashford will leave United one day, possibly in the January window given the mood music inside Carrington, but his influence will remain with many children across the country following his ongoing work tackling child food poverty. “It was emotional to hear that, 100%,” Rashford told me of the four-year-old’s words of thanks. “I don’t like to see kids go through what I went through growing up so as many kids as I can help I will. That's why the programme needs to go on for as long as possible and it needs to keep improving.”

Wherever you stand on the Rashford debate, and he certainly generates headlines, he has been a force for good in so many children’s lives. One of the Button Lane teachers said that Rashford’s present will be the only one some of the 420 kids receive this Christmas. Another pointed through the window to the 3G five-a-side Rashford funded.

Some balance is required in the current Rashford debate. I was shown some of the DMs he receives on a regular basis and they are utterly despicable. There are rumours of a lack of professionalism. “I do feel misunderstood but I’m fine with it. I’m a very simple person. I love football. That’s been my life from the beginning.”

At 27, and having scored 138 goals in 426 appearances for United (and 17 in 60 for England), Rashford remains a huge talent, and will be in demand, possibly from Spain, when he leaves United. Yes, he could do more on the field, certainly out of possession. Yes, he was dropped from Sunday’s match-day squad against Manchester City by Ruben Amorim, who questioned his application in training. “It’s disheartening to be left out of a Derby,” Rashford replied, “but it’s happened, we won the game so let's move on. It’s disappointing but I’m also someone as I’ve got older I can deal with setbacks. What am I going to do about it? Sit there and cry about it. Or do my best the next time I’m available.”

He awoke this morning to headlines detailing United’s desire to sell him. I ask Rashford if he’s staying or going? “For me, personally, I think I'm ready for a new challenge and the next steps.” All of his words were prefaced with respect for the club which has been his home for almost 20 years. “When I leave it's going to be ‘no hard feelings’. You’re not going to have any negative comments from me about Manchester United. That’s me as a person.

"If I know that a situation is already bad I'm not going to make it worse. I've seen how other players have left in the past and I don't want to be that person. When I leave I'll make a statement and it will be from me.” From the heart as he’ll always be a Red? “Yes! 100%. 100%.”

He’s 27, peak time for a player, combining experience and athleticism, and he should be embedded in a team, creating an even bigger legacy. “I’m halfway through my career,” Rashford replies. “I don’t expect my peak to be now. I've had nine years so far in the Premier League and that’s taught me a lot, that’s helped me grow as a player and as a person. So I don't have any regrets from the last nine years. I won’t have any regrets going forward because I take things day by day and sometimes bad things happen, sometimes good things happen. I just try and keep a fine balance.” The best is yet to come? “100%. That's my mentality.”

He craves an England return and chance of making the 2026 World Cup. “That still excites me. It's playing for your country in the biggest competition in the world. I've had the chance to do it before (Russia 2018 and Qatar 2022) and it's an unbelievable experience. If I got the opportunity again, I'll try and grab it with both hands.”

Even though he has scored three times for Amorim, the new head coach’s 3-4-2-1 system does not appear to suit Rashford. The player himself makes a point about his adaptability, whether left wing, No 9 or No 10. “I have traits to play in all three positions. Some positions are more natural to me, some positions I have to train more and do a bit more tactical (work). The left side suits me the best.” But Amorim doesn’t play 4-3-3 or 4-2-3-1. He plays with two 10s. “The left 10 still suits me but you have to adapt your game. The biggest skill-set is adaptability. People might not see it but eventually they'll see I’ve played in plenty of different positions under all the managers.”

If his days under Amorim look numbered, Rashford will pursue his dreams elsewhere. The last time Rashford returned to Button Lane, he was asked by a young girl “what’s your biggest achievement?” He replied, “I haven't achieved it yet.”

That attitude echoes his love of “Relentless”, the book by the American mindset guru Tim Grover. Rashford’s not fallen out of love with football, he’s still aspiring to achieve things in the sport that’s his world. “Definitely, regardless of what gets said about me I have my own dreams. I’ve achieved parts of it. But I’m not at where I want to be. But the problem is when you get there, you create another thing. It’s a cycle that never stops. There’s not really an end point.”

Just the pursuit of excellence. Rashford needs to intensify that pursuit. He has the talent. And it looks like that talent will move away from #MUFC. He will still return to Button Lane. Marcus Rashford won’t forget where he came from. Nor will he forget United.

[Richie Maidment ® @RichieM88]

24/25 24 apps, 7 goals (so far)
23/24 43 apps, 8 goals
22/23 56 apps, 30 goals
21/22 32 apps, 5 goals
20/21 57 apps, 21 goals
19/20 44 apps, 22 goals
18/19 47 apps, 13 goals
17/18 52 apps, 13 goals
16/17 53 apps, 11 goals
15/16 31 apps, 12 goals
#MUFC

[Richie Maidment ® @RichieM88]

Really hope we sale #Rashford 😆🤞🏻

[Sonny @Sonny_MUFC]

Try to win football matches but your gk dives out of the way of shots and when chasing an equaliser, he wastes 39s on a free kick.

You’ve gotta be a special kind of cunt.

[曼联球迷 @_Utdbaki]

Why would you even shoot from there... https://t.co/zLXipeAx2B

[Manchester United @ManUtd]

In loving memory of Kath Phipps: friend, confidant and treasured colleague.

United will never be the same.

[Richie Maidment ® @RichieM88]

If Marcus Rashford was a dog, he would be put down and put out of his misery
#MUFC

[(fan) Frank 🧠🇾🇪 @FrankEra_]

Scholes was 34 here, we were actually spoilt.. https://t.co/HYOPJP2wOs

[Richie Maidment ® @RichieM88]

If we’re selling academy players then hopefully @MarcusRashford will be next 🙏 #MUFC

[Manchester United @ManUtd]

Played like you meant it.

Thanks for everything, Scott ❤️

#MUFC

[Richie Maidment ® @RichieM88]

Good luck to him, always gave 100%.
Sad to see him go, especially whilst we keep Mason Mount 🙄 #MUFC

[Manchester United @ManUtd]

The Red who lived his dream ❤️

Your United family wishes you nothing but success in this new chapter, @McTominay10 🔴

#MUFC

[Richie Maidment ® @RichieM88]

Average player
No proper position
Terrible injury record
Huge wages

Literally watching another huge flop of a signing that we will struggle to move on in 1-2 years, if at all #MUFC

[Fabrizio Romano @FabrizioRomano]

🚨🔴 Mason Mount will be out due to new injury.

“During the last game I picked up a minor muscle issue. I’ll be out for few games”.

“I worked hard to get my fitness back to where it needs to be, I felt sharp and ready”.

“I wanted you to hear it from me how frustrated I am”.