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‘THERE WAS THIS HUNGER INSIDE ME’
The long read moves on to 10-year-old Marcus being offered life-changing money that the family needed, but turning it down to pursue his dream at United.
“Money is great. It’s a blessing. But dreams are priceless. For me, even at 11 years old, playing for United was my only goal. I remember around that time, when I was still trying to get signed, Wazza and Cristiano came by to do something with all the Academy lads, and I was just looking at them in awe, you know what I mean? They had a photographer there, and at the end all us kids had a chance to get a picture with them, and I remember hanging in the back away from everyone.
“I remember my brother saying, ‘Go take a picture with Wazza, bro! What are you doing?’
“I said, ‘I don’t need a picture.’
“He said, ‘Don’t need a picture?’
“I said, ‘I’m going to be playing alongside them some day.’
“I think I was the only kid who didn’t get a photo. After we had turned down the money, there was just this hunger inside me. I didn’t see myself as a kid anymore. I had to grab my opportunity and change our lives, period. To be able to go on and really live that dream, as a kid from Manchester… As a kid from Hulme, Moss Side, Chorlton, Withington, Wythenshawe… If you think I would ever take that for granted, then you simply do not know me.
“Listen, the thing is, football can be a bubble. I have tried to stay a normal person. I have tried to keep my same friends. I have tried my best not to change, even when I’m on a night out or on holiday. But there’s another side to that. I’m a human being. I’ve made mistakes that a lot of lads in their 20s make, and I’ve tried to learn from them. But I’ve also made sacrifices that nobody sees. The thing that I want you to understand is that money is not what keeps you playing through the hard times. It’s the love of the game, plain and simple.”
“I treat United the same way I treat my family.”
For Marcus Rashford, Old Trafford is home. ❤️ pic.twitter.com/xdNxxWgDv6
— Players’ Tribune Football (@TPTFootball) February 29, 2024
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