‘He had to get out of the club’ – Gary Neville

Manchester United legend Gary Neville gave his approval of Marcus Rashford’s exit from Manchester United.

Rashford left Manchester United to sign up for Aston Villa on loan until the end of the season.

“It had to happen,” Gary Neville told Sky Sports about Marcus Rashford’s move to Aston Villa before it was officially announced.

“He had to get out of the club. He’s been battered in the last few weeks by his manager. That’s the most important person in football, your coach.

“Some of the statements from Ruben Amorim towards Marcus Rashford have been brutal, emphatically saying he doesn’t want him. I don’t see how there’s any way back after the comments made.

“Moving onto the question about Villa, I think there are a number of things in his favour. He’s going to a far better team at this moment in time. He’s going to a coach who’s world-class, which I think is a real opportunity for him. I think it puts pressure on Marcus to perform for Unai Emery.

“If you don’t play for him, then you’re saying well, Ruben Amorim might be the problem, Erik Ten Haag might be the problem – Unai Emery can’t be the problem for Marcus Rashford. He has to play well for him. The other thing is the style of play at Villa, which could suit Marcus Rashford.

“Maybe the spotlight won’t be on him quite as much as at Manchester United, but certainly there’ll still be a lot of attention. They’re in a lot of competitions, they’ve still got a lot to play for. It’s a real opportunity for Marcus. The last thing he needs now is for someone to say ‘go on, enjoy yourself’. He needs to have discipline in his game.

“He needs to be coached, he needs to know from the team exactly what it is they want from him. Unai Emery will do that. He’s an absolutely amazing coach and he’s exactly what Marcus Rashford needs and what he’s got to do is buy into it.”