Marcus Rashford of Manchester United has responded to criticism regarding a trip to New York City made after he opted out of international duty in March by stating that he is “100% committed” to England.
Due to an injury, the 25-year-old attacker missed the qualifications against Italy and Ukraine for Euro 2024.
The forward’s choice to travel to the United States was justified at the time by England manager Gareth Southgate.
“I need time to switch off and recover,” Rashford said.
“I took a short trip, four days, then went back to rehab and just tried to get ready as soon as possible.
“With injuries, you can’t predict when they’re going to happen. Occasionally you do get impact injuries. I know that I’m committed to it [England] 100%.
“People are going to say what they’re going to say. It doesn’t really bother me.”
Rashford is now training for England’s upcoming Euro 2024 qualifying matches against North Macedonia at Old Trafford on the following Monday and Malta in Valletta on Friday.
In the recently concluded season, the striker led United with 30 goals across all competitions.
His final contest of the year was the FA Cup final on June 3, a game in which Manchester City defeated United 2-1 and went on to win the Triple Crown.
“It’s not nice but at the same time it’s football,” added Rashford, whose United side finished third and won the EFL Cup last season.
“The best team that is consistently playing the best football is going to win the most trophies. They managed to win three this year – well done to them.
“We just move on. It’s up to them to keep it up and up to the rest of us to catch up.”
On Tuesday, City players Phil Foden, Jack Grealish, Kalvin Phillips, John Stones, and Kyle Walker joined the England team.
When asked what he would say to the City team during the England training camp, Rashford responded: “Just congratulations, it’s football. The most consistent teams are going to win trophies. It’s nothing new. Look at Barcelona and Madrid, they’re always going to win trophies.”
The team would only “get over the line in a major tournament” if British players were winning trophies, he continued.
Rashford’s season started on August 7, more than ten months ago, and will continue with England’s game in Malta on Friday.
The attacker, who made 56 appearances for his club in a campaign that also featured a World Cup in November and December, called the current schedule “mad.”
“The players are going to push ourselves to the absolute limits,” he said.
“We need to be given more time to recover between certain games and at different stages of the season.
“That’s my opinion but I don’t think it’s down to the players. We shouldn’t have to put ourselves in a position to speak out about something that we’re not in control of or we’re not going to make the final decision on.”
