Yahoo Sports Gary Neville brands Marcus Rashford ‘unprofessional’ – but gets crucial detail wrong over US trip
Gary Neville has questioned the professionalism of Marcus Rashford and Casemiro after they flew to the United States during Ruben Amorim’s first fortnight in charge of Manchester United.
Both players travelled to the US during the international break, with Rashford photographed watching an NBA game between New York Knicks and Brooklyn Nets at Madison Square Garden, while Casemiro posted pictures of himself and his family at Disney World on Instagram.
Speaking on his Stick to Football podcast, Neville criticised the pair’s trip but appeared to wrongly suggest Rashford had flown via Portland.
Telegraph Sport has been told neither player travelled via the city and that Neville may have been misled by pictures that emerged during the international break of Rashford training at the Nike academy there during the summer.
Those pictures show the striker alongside an academy player for the Portland Timbers, who are coached by Neville’s brother Phil.
Neville said: “I’m not that wound up about Rashford and Casemiro going over to the United States, but what I’m asking is, if you’ve got a four-day break, Portland is a 12-hour flight and an eight-hour time difference, your jet lag is bad, and you feel a bit like…
“I’m asking the question based on professionalism – you’re playing badly, the team are losing, you’re 13th in the league, and there is a new manager coming in – would you choose that trip as a break to recharge your batteries? That’s not a recharging trip. It’s not right, that.”
‘Is that going to give a jet-lag issue?’
He went on: “The professionalism, looking after your body and making sure you’re best prepared for the next training session is critical to every decision you make during the season.
“He [Rashford] has got a mental break, he’s got to get away and has got to rest with friends. Then you talk about the choice of venue, how far do you fly, what’s the time difference, is that going to give a jet-lag issue, is that going to give a stiffness issue from being on a flight for 12 hours?
“This is on Casemiro more than Rashford but if I’m 30 years old and I’m looking after my body – and he’s won five Champions Leagues and is an unbelievable player – but if he was away with Brazil for 10 days, we would say he would struggle this weekend because he’s been away.
“They have chosen that international break. If you are talking about the minor details in being as professional as you can be and as prepared as you can be for a training session on a Monday night, that isn’t the best choice of venue.”
In January, Rashford was disciplined by then United manager Erik ten Hag for calling in sick after allegedly partying in Belfast the previous evening.
The striker’s form has nosedived during the past two seasons and he has not played for England since being left out of Gareth Southgate’s European Championship squad.
Telegraph Sport has been told Rashford did not book his trip to the US until he was omitted from interim manager Lee Carsley’s squad for England’s Nations League wins over Greece and Republic of Ireland.
United were also said to have no issue with Rashford or Casemiro’s trips, a view that was shared by Neville’s podcast co-host Ian Wright when asked if he would travel to the US during an international break.
Wright said: “If it’s my time off then, yes, I’d do it. Simply because it’s my time off. If you’re going for three or four days, that jet lag won’t cause you too much of a problem.”
Amorim’s first game in charge of United is at Ipswich Town on Sunday.
