At the still-tender age of 24, Marcus Rashford became the third-youngest player of all time to reach 300 senior appearances for Manchester United in April 2022.
The Academy graduate has not looked back since a fairy-tale beginning to his first-team career, scoring twice on his debut against Midtjylland in the 2015/16 Europa League, having been a late addition to the starting XI on the night following an injury to Anthony Martial.
After bursting onto the scene on that Thursday evening, Marcus’s dream week continued on the Sunday, as he netted a brace on his Premier League debut, at just 18 years old, against Arsenal at Old Trafford.
“It’s unbelievable, when you are 18 years and you come in,” said United manager at the time, Louis van Gaal after Rashford’s two goals versus the Gunners. “You get the chance, and you have to perform. It is not a matter of age, it is a matter of quality and he shows it.”
A young Marcus continued to show that quality with the winner at the Etihad Stadium in his first Manchester derby before netting a key goal, away to West Ham, on United’s run to lifting the FA Cup for the first time since 2004.
He finished the season by winning the club’s Jimmy Murphy Young Player of the Year award and signing a new contract at United, as well as being selected to his first senior major tournament with England, as part of the Three Lions’ Euro 2016 squad.
Fresh from spending the summer with Roy Hodgson’s squad and scoring his first senior international goal against Australia in a pre-tournament friendly, Rashford returned to Manchester with a new squad number (19) but the same goalscoring instincts.
In Jose Mourinho’s first season in charge, Marcus carried on netting key goals, that included a late winner early in the campaign away to Hull City, while important strikes against Anderlecht and Celta Vigo in our European campaign helped United add the Europa League to our trophy collection.
A match-winning brace against Liverpool in the following season highlighted his continued willingness to bear responsibility, while no Red made more appearances across all competitions in the 2017/18 season than the homegrown talent.
Ahead of the new campaign, Rashford took on the storied no.10 shirt at United and flourished once more, particularly under the care of new manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
The forward netted the first goal of the Norwegian’s caretaker and permanent reigns, away to Cardiff and at home to Watford respectively, as well as matching his previous season’s scoring tally by the end of the term.
His form under Solskjaer was also recognised with the Premier League’s January Player of the Month award, a short time before he netted a historic goal in United history, completing a stoppage-time comeback away to PSG in the Champions League.
Having played both as a centre-forward and from the wing in his early United career, Rashford really began to make the left side of attack his own in the 2019/20, enjoying his best scoring season to date from the position.
A stress fracture to his back ruled him out of action prior to the suspension of the game due to the Covid-19 pandemic, but Rashford used his time to campaign against homelessness and child hunger in the United Kingdom – for which he would later receive an MBE and an honorary doctorate from the University of Manchester.
Rashford made it to the final of Euro 2020 with England, although the Three Lions suffered penalty heartbreak to Italy. He had his best United season under Erik ten Hag in 2022/23, scoring 30 goals in all competitions and scooping the Sir Matt Busby Player of the Year award.
