With Marcus Rashford Gone, Manchester United Can’t Hide Behind Scapegoats Anymore | OneFootball

Marcus Rashford has left Manchester United for Barcelona, and with his departure, the club has lost more than just a player. They’ve lost a long-standing human shield, someone whose form, body language, or off-field decisions could conveniently dominate headlines whenever the team underperformed.

People often attribute many of Manchester United’s failures to Rashford. The Red Devils were ninth and he scored twice in the last game he started for the club, a 4-0 win over Everton at Old Trafford. Since he’s gone, United is exposed.

For years, Rashford has been a frequent target for criticism. When the team was disjointed, when managers failed, or when performances dipped, it was often Rashford’s name that filled the back pages. He became the poster boy for everything Manchester United wasn’t, rather than what he actually was, a product of their broken culture, not the cause of it.

Next season, there will be no Marcus Rashford to blame. There won’t be any stories from nightclubs. There will be no complaints about his attitude or work rate. There will be no discussions about whether he should exert more effort or smile more.

That excuse is gone. It’s time for the renowned Manchester United to deliver.

Time to Face the Mirror

United are now forced to confront the truth: if they continue to stumble, if the football remains uninspiring, if the dressing room still feels fractured, it won’t be because of Rashford.

The issues at Old Trafford are much deeper than the performance of any single player. Rashford’s exit doesn’t cleanse the culture. It doesn’t magically fix the lack of sporting direction, the inconsistent recruitment, the managerial instability, or the outdated structures that have haunted the club for over a decade.

Those are the real issues. And now, there’s no homegrown forward to absorb the fallout.

Over in Catalonia, Rashford gets a fresh start. Maybe he thrives, maybe he doesn’t. But at the very least, he escapes the dysfunctional cycle he was stuck in at United, a cycle where young talents too often peak early and plateau under the weight of mismanagement.

For United, his success elsewhere would be damning. Even if he fails to thrive in Spain, his absence deprives the club of a crucial support system. We have already seen a glimpse of the future as United’s 2024/25 Premier League campaign continued to fall flat on its face while Rashford was away on loan, playing Champions League football at Aston Villa.

The Last Excuse Is Gone

United now has nowhere to hide. If performances next season remain erratic, if their style of play continues to lack identity, if the dressing room again descends into passive-aggressive chaos, fans and pundits will be forced to ask harder questions. They did at the end of last season.

Because they started to realise that it couldn’t be Rashford’s fault anymore. It’ll be on the structure. The board. The sporting leadership. The manager. The players. The culture. In other words, it will be on Manchester United. And it always was.