Marcus Rashford admits it was "not nice" to see Manchester City celebrations

By Matt Law, Football Editor | 14 June 2023

Marcus Rashford says that Manchester City's treble celebrations has provided him with an added incentive to help Manchester United close the gap on their rivals.

Manchester United forward Marcus Rashford has said that Manchester City's treble celebrations has provided him with an added incentive to help the Red Devils close the gap on their rivals.

A relatively successful 2022-23 campaign for Man United saw them end their six-year trophy drought by lifting the EFL Cup at the end of February, while they finished third in the Premier League table to secure a return to the Champions League for next season.

However, Man City cemented their spot as currently the best club team in European football, as they won the Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League, beating Inter Milan to win the European Cup last weekend.

Rashford admitted that it was "not nice" to see Man City's celebrations in Manchester but is looking to use it as fuel to help Man United in their bid to return to former glories.

"It's not nice. But it's football. They best team who consistently play the best football are going to win the most trophies. They've won three so well done to them. We just move on and it's up to them to keep it up. It's up to us to catch them up," Rashford told reporters.

Manchester City players celebrate lifting the Champions League trophy on June 10, 2023 © Reuters

Five Man City players have been named in the England squad for the upcoming Euro 2024 qualification matches against Malta and North Macedonia, with Kyle Walker, John Stones, Kalvin Phillips, Phil Foden and Jack Grealish all called up.

Rashford, who scored 30 goals and registered 11 assists in 56 games for Man United during the 2022-23 campaign, also said that he will congratulate his England teammates when he sees them.

"I'll say congratulations. It's football. It's nothing new. Just look at Barcelona, Real Madrid a few years ago - they were consistently the best team so will win trophies," he added.

When asked whether the celebrations would motivate him, Rashford responded: "Yeah, 100%."

Manchester United's Marcus Rashford celebrates scoring against Leicester City on February 19, 2023 © Reuters

Rashford also opened up on the volume of matches at the top level, with the international break coming less than three weeks before the majority of teams return to pre-season training.

"It's evident. It's mad that we're playing teams that play once a week and we're playing three a week from November until we got knocked out of the Europa League. It's difficult but we're used to doing it. That said I don't think it's right," he added.

"In the early stages of my career I couldn't make sense of it. Some managers have spoken out about it. If one team is playing 60 games a year and another is playing 38 then there needs to be some time for the team playing those 20 extras games to recover and prepare."

England opened their Euro 2024 qualification campaign with back-to-back victories over Italy and Ukraine, which has already left them top of Group C ahead of Friday's clash with Malta.

Man United, meanwhile, are set to begin their pre-season against Leeds United on July 12, before heading to the United States for a pre-season tour.