Former Manchester United winger Jadon Sancho has sent a brutally honest message to his old teammate Marcus Rashford after Rashford made his Aston Villa debut.
The 27-year-old came off the bench in Villa’s 2-1 FA Cup win over Tottenham Hotspur, which was his first outing since his move from Old Trafford this January. This is also his first competitive outing since mid-December, in which United went on to record a 2-1 victory against Viktoria Plzen in the Europa League.
It had not been easy playing under United because the new boss Ruben Amorim had frozen him out.
Rashford had also spoken of the need for a fresh start in recent months, which only cast further doubt on his future at United. He had started just one game since then, and was even named in only one matchday squad—the Carabao Cup defeat to Newcastle, where he remained an unused substitute.
Amorim had stressed that Rashford would have to get back to good training standards if he wanted a future at the club—similar to the manner in which Sancho’s Old Trafford career unravelled under Erik ten Hag.
Sancho himself had fallen out of favour under Ten Hag due to reported attitude concerns in training. He eventually secured a loan move to Borussia Dortmund before joining Chelsea in the summer, where he has thrived.
His resurgence in Germany helped Dortmund to the Champions League final and his transition so far to Stamford Bridge is promising. Chelsea also have an option to make his move permanent, similar to Aston Villa with Rashford.
Rashford, who has a contract with United until 2028, can join Villa permanently for £40 million if he impresses. He enjoyed a great reception from Villa supporters in his first appearance for the club as he was given a warm welcome coming on for Donyell Malen in the 65th minute. Every touch-22 in total-was cheered by the home supporters.
Afterwards, Rashford posted on Instagram himself six photos from the match with the caption, “Thank you for the warm welcome. Great team performance.”
Sancho, meanwhile replied to his fellow attacker’s message with a lone word: “Freedom”, accompanying his comment with praying hands and a raised-hand emoji. And seemingly, Sancho meant his message to reveal that Rashford could finally express himself on the pitch without handicaps-perhaps hinting with the barb at their previous club.
Now, Rashford will be hoping that his Villa Park switch brings the best out of him, much like it did for Sancho after leaving United. He will have the opportunity to make a fresh start under Unai Emery and prove his doubters wrong.
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