Marcus Rashford: Man Utd fallout ends in divorce

Marcus Rashford was once hailed as Manchester United's golden boy and the social conscience of the Premier League, but the misfiring forward leaves Old Trafford for Aston Villa with his reputation tarnished after a precipitous fall from grace.

- Agencies

LONDON:

Rashford appeared to have the world at his feet when he signed a new five-year contract with United worth a reported £325,000 ($400,000) per week in July 2023.

Fresh from scoring 30 goals in the 2022/23 season, the England star appeared to be entering his prime at the age of 25.

Rashford's approval rating was sky-high on and off the pitch after his role in forcing a British government U-turn over free school meals for disadvantaged children and his fight against racism and homelessness.

The Manchester-born forward even featured on the cover of British Vogue in 2020 alongside supermodel turned mental health campaigner Adwoa Aboah as one of "The Faces of Hope". But the 27-year-old's drop-off in form and fallout with his boyhood club has been so dramatic that his loan move to Villa on Sunday, with an option to buy, came as little surprise.