FORMER Manchester United midfielder Paul Scholes says out-of-favour Marcus Rashford has let his teammates down and should be “banished” from the dressing room.
The England forward has not played for United since December 12, with manager Ruben Amorim leaving him out of the squad for every game since apart from one, in which he was an unused substitute.
Amorim suggested on Sunday that he would rather have 63-year-old goalkeeping coach Jorge Vital in his squad than the 27-year-old forward, citing a perceived lack of effort.
Scholes, who won 11 Premier League titles with United, expressed strong views about Rashford on The Overlap Fan Debate.
“I think Marcus has let a lot of people down really, with his attitude, and I think that’s what the manager is trying to say,” he said.
“You think of the young players coming through the team, think of (Alejandro) Garnacho, they’re looking up to people like Marcus now — he’s 27 years of age, and he’s clearly not training properly.
“I remember years ago when I told the manager (Alex Ferguson) I didn’t want to play in that Arsenal game… he said to me ‘The worst thing you did is let your team-mates down’, and that really stuck with me because I wasn’t really thinking about that — and now I think Marcus Rashford, he’s doing exactly the same.
“OK, he’s not refusing to play, but in the way he’s behaving and the way he’s training, in a way he is saying I don’t want to be involved with these.
“So I think the fact of letting your team-mates down in that dressing room — he should be banished from the dressing room really. If he’s in and around that and young people are seeing that as an example, the sooner he’s gone the better.”
Scholes’ comments follow similarly strong remarks from former United defender Rio Ferdinand, who said on the Rio Ferdinand Presents podcast that there was “no way back” for Rashford following Amorim’s comments.
Rashford said in December he was ready for a “new challenge”, two days after being left out of the squad to face Manchester City.
Barcelona, Borussia Dortmund and AC Milan have been linked with a move for the player, who has scored 138 goals in 426 appearances for United, during the January transfer window.
But any move is complicated by Rashford’s reported £300,000-a-week ($374,000) salary on a deal that runs until 2028.