Marcus Rashford ‘hurt’ by Manchester United’s fall from grace
Striker desperate to return boyhood club to past glories after signing new bumper contract
Homegrown Manchester United forward Marcus Rashford said it "hurts" to see his boyhood club in the state they are now.
The 21-year-old made the comments after signing a new four-year contract which will keep him at the club until 2023, with the option to extend a further year.
Record 20-time English champions United finished sixth in the English Premier League last season and have not come close to winning the league since Sir Alex Ferguson retired in 2013.
Rashford told The Times: "It hurts every day to see where we are now, (compared) to where we've been in the past.
"I use that pain as motivation.
"It makes me more determined to put the club back where they belong.
"There's nothing I want more than to see the club winning the league again, winning the Champions League again.
"Everybody here deserves much, much more than what we're giving them right now, not only the fans, the club itself...
"As players, we're the ones who have the opportunity to try and forget about the past five, six years and put the club back on track."
Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed, but British media reported the new contract could see Rashford earn around £250,000 (S$428,000) a week, as manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer plans to build his attack around the England man.
The Norwegian called the academy product, who scored 13 goals for United last season, "one of the most talented English players of his generation".
He added: "Marcus is a shining example of the talent that our academy produces and his upbringing means that he truly understands what it means to play for Manchester United."
Juan Mata, who recently also signed a new deal, said it was clear that Rashford was special from his first training session with the senior team in 2015.
SOMETHING SPECIAL
Speaking at a Soccerex event, the Spaniard said: "When he trained with the first team (for the first time), we felt there was something special about him.
"He's making some good steps in his evolution and he's a great player in great condition. He has a good mentality, which is very important for his age...
"He can change the game with one sprint or one piece of skill."
However, former Manchester City and England winger Shaun Wright-Phillips has questioned Rashford's development.
Comparing the 21-year-old with 24-year-old fellow England attacker Raheem Sterling, who scored 25 goals for City last season, he said: "For me, the gap between Sterling and Rashford is even wider than the gap between City and United.
"I think of Raheem Sterling as an amazing player, whereas I think of Rashford as being very good.
"For a player of Rashford's quality, I feel like he should score more goals, and I think Pep (Guardiola) has taught Raheem how to do that."
With his new bumper deal, there is likely to be increased pressure on Rashford to deliver. According to talkSPORT, the striker is the sixth-best paid player in the EPL, earning more than Virgil van Dijk, Mohamed Salah and Harry Kane.
Said former Red Devils captain Bryan Robson: "United have created their own problem in terms of the kind of money they now pay...
"You have to applaud the ambition, but it means that top players - and that is what Rashford is - will look to earn as much as they can as part of the structure."
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