'What have I done?' Manchester United legend guesses Ruben Amorim reaction to Marcus Rashford goals | OneFootball

Struggling Red Devils may be quickly regretting decision to allow England forward to join Barcelona on loan

Nicky Butt believes Manchester United boss Ruben Amorim will have been regretful watching Marcus Rashford’s Champions League exploits for Barcelona.

Anthony Gordon turned home substitute Jacob Murphy’s cross at the start of stoppage time to set up a grandstand finish in the North East, but Newcastle could not find a dramatic last-gasp equaliser and the night deservedly belonged to Rashford.

It was a triumphant return to home soil for the 27-year-old, who is finally starting to show some form at long last after a prolonged period of struggle at parent club United, registering an assist for Raphinha in Sunday’s 6-0 demolition of Valencia in LaLiga having also scored England’s fifth goal from the penalty spot in their dominant rout of Serbia in World Cup qualifying.

It was the perfect riposte to Rashford’s detractors during his stalled career at United, where he received fierce criticism and was exiled from the first-team squad, having not played since December 2024 and spent the second half of last season on loan with Premier League rivals Aston Villa.

And while Red Devils legend Butt believes that his exit was best for Rashford’s career, he also thinks Amorim will be questioning the decision to let him go as United continue to struggle for a regular source of goals during their worst start to a season for 33 years despite spending a significant amount on upgrading their forward line during the summer transfer window and also loaning out the likes of Rasmus Hojlund.

“I think I’d be thinking, ‘what have I done?’,” the former midfielder said on the BBC when asked what Amorim would be thinking after Rashford’s man-of-the-match performance for Barcelona, which came in front of England boss Thomas Tuchel.

“I’ve let that go and Manchester United are obviously struggling. Players need to move on if it’s not going well because you need to be loved and Marcus definitely needs an arm around him and needs to be loved. When he is, he showed what he can do tonight.

“He’s shown tonight what a top, top player he is, because we’ve obviously forgotten about his talent in England with the last couple of years he’s had at Man United.

“He’s shown tonight that he’s a real, real top talent and he’s back to the old Marcus. His goals and his work ethic.”

Butt was far from the only pundit effusive in his praise of a resurgent Rashford after his heroics against Newcastle.

Former England winger Joe Cole told TNT Sports: “It’s great to see him do well. The whole story of Marcus Rashford has been fantastic from the start.

“He became a real icon for the game and everything he did off the pitch, but what he does on the pitch is superb. When he’s at the top of his game, he can be unstoppable.

“We just haven’t seen enough nights like that, but it’s great to see him smiling, great to see him back at it. When he’s at his best, he’s an England starter, he could be a Barcelona starter, he could get into any team in the world.

“You just want to see him enjoying his football again. It was great tonight, brilliant from him.”