Marcus Rashford has become the fourth-youngest player to reach 250 career games

 

MARCUS RASHFORD has become the fourth-youngest player to reach 250 career games for Manchester United, behind three Old Trafford legends. In taking to the pitch, Rashford became the fourth-youngest Red Devils star to the impressive milestone - aged just 23 years and 101 days. Only Norman Whiteside, George Best and Ryan Giggs got to 250 games at a younger age.

Whiteside achieved the feat aged 22 years and 192 days, but would go on to play just 28 more games before joining Everton. Best hit the milestone at 22 years and 199 - just one week later than his fellow Northern Irishman. The legendary winger went on to play 470 times for United, winning two titles and the 1968 European Cup during his illustrious career.

And Giggs - who tallied a staggering 963 games and 23 major trophies, 13 Premier League crowns and two Champions League trophies, during his career - reached 250 games aged 22 years and 301 days. Rashford marginally beat Sammy McIlroy (23 years and 158 days) to fourth place.The England ace is now firmly focused on breaking into United's top ten scorers having overtaken Eric Cantona last week.

Rashford scored in the 9-0 annihilation of Southampton to scored his 83rd goal for the club. After the win, the forward tweeted: "Special moment for me as a boyhood United fan, passing King Eric's record.

"Loved it out there tonight - great team performance."

Rashford is now one ahead of Cantona's tally, but he still has some way to go to surpass Wayne Rooney's record of 253 goals. The next man to overtake is David Beckham, who scored 85 times for the Red Devils. Rashford needs to get to 155 to go level with Paul Scholes and break into the club's top ten and must hunt down a host of legends including Sir Bobby Charlton in order to get to Rooney's tally.

Manchester United star Marcus Rashford is the world's most valuable player

Manchester United star Marcus Rashford is the world's most valuable player and worth a staggering £150 million, according to the latest calculations by CIES Football Observatory. While Rashford's value has skyrocketed on account of a free-scoring season for United, Paris Saint-Germain's Kylian Mbappe has slumped to fifth place on their list as he enters the last 18 months of his contract.

They value Mbappe at £135m now, below Rashford, Borussia Dortmund's Erling Haaland (£137.3m), Liverpool defender Trent Alexander-Arnold (£137m) and United attacking midfielder Bruno Fernandes (£135.1m). The CIES survey takes into account recent player performances as well as their age, contract situation and career progression plus their club's wealth and success.

Rashford's value has soared this season on account of the 14 goals and seven assists he has racked up for United and the fact Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's team can be considered Premier League title contenders for the first time in a while. The England forward is also young at the age of 23 and is contracted to the Old Trafford club until 2023 with the option of a further year.

France international Mbappe, 22, actually has an identical goals and assists record to Rashford this season but his value has ebbed away because he hasn't yet committed to a long-term PSG contract.

What age did marcus rashford join manchester united?

Marcus Rashford has revealed how his mum forced through a move Manchester United's academy a year early in order to help him escape growing up in a low-income family. In an emotional letter, Rashford has called on MPs to reverse the government's decision to end free school meals for low-income familes.

The United striker drew on personal experience, having already helped to raise £20m to supply three million meals to vulnerable people during the coronavirus crisis. Explaining his passion for the cause, Rashford revealed how his mum got him to join United's academy a year early in order to make sure he was eating right.

He told BBC Breakfast: "The programme that I started at 11 years old, you’re supposed to start it at 12 years old. "It basically gives you accommodation closer to the training facilities and a new school.

"She worked hard to push it forward, because she knew that for me it was the step I needed to take. I needed to be eating the right foods and I needed to be close to my teammates and my new school friends.

"She made that decision when I was 11 and United allowed it, so that was the reason why I ended up going at a younger age compared to the others.

"It was to help my mum with her situation and also get me out of the situation that I was in."

The 22-year-old says he has memories of being hungry as a child, but knew it was no fault of his family's. "Yeah of course," he said ." But I knew how hard my Mum was working so I would never moan. "If there was food on the table, there was food on the table. "If not, I had friends who understood and it might be possible to go to their house and get some food or whatever."

He added: "My Mum and I used to go to a shop called Poundworld. She did the best she could in the circumstances. "Some families have four or five kids and it’s hard to take control."

He said: "Forty-five per cent of people like me, black people & different ethnic minorities, are living in poverty. "I was very close to being one of that 45%. I understand it could have gone either way for me.

"I want to help people and raise awareness. People want to help but they don’t have the understanding or knowledge."