Erik ten Hag secretly joked about banishing Marcus Rashford to seventh-tier club Macclesfield | OneFootball

Former Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag reportedly claimed that he wanted to send underperforming forward Marcus Rashford to Macclesfield FC, during a private conversation towards the end of last season.

Under Ten Hag, Rashford enjoyed the best campaign of his professional career, netting an impressive 30 goals across all competitions in the 2022/23 campaign.

Rashford’s performances helped United to a Champions League finish and the Carabao Cup. The club rewarded him with a bumper new contract, worth in excess of £300,000-a-week.

However, the season after, Rashford dramatically declined, only managing eight goals in 43 games. There was speculation that United were open to selling him in the summer transfer window but bids were not forthcoming.

Rashford also had issues off the pitch. On one occasion, he was publicly admonished by Ten Hag after it was revealed he had gone out partying hours after United were beaten by Manchester City in the derby. A few months later, the pair clashed again, this time after the forward phoned in sick and missed training following a bender in Belfast.

Now, the Manchester Evening News have revealed that Ten Hag may have been at his wits’ end with Rashford.

According to MEN journalist Samuel Luckhurst, “There were five matches remaining last season when Erik ten Hag went on the attack. But it was at Manchester United’s training complex, rather than on a matchday.”

“Ten Hag dedicated a significant portion of one day at Carrington to holding court with influential voices on why he should stay on as manager. He covered a lot of old ground (the number of times the back four changed, the injury crises, the absence of a prolific striker) but also some new ground.”

“In one conflab, a confidant mentioned Marcus Rashford and the fact that he had been publicly disciplined twice in one season. He half-jokingly said that if Rashford had dared to step out of line under Sir Alex Ferguson, he would have been sent to Macclesfield.”

“Ten Hag assured the confidant if he had enough forwards, he would have sent Rashford to Macclesfield.”

Rashford is currently out on loan at Aston Villa having fallen out of favour under Ten Hag’s replacement, Ruben Amorim.

The 27-year-old appears to have found a new lease of life at Villa, with his past few displays catching the eye. Villa retain the option of making his signing permanent for £40m.

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