Manchester United beat Aston Villa on the final day of the season and in the process, shattered their dreams of qualifying for the Champions League.
Man Utd’s 2- 0 win was pretty unexpected, especially the nature of the performance, while Aston Villa missed Marcus Rashford, who was ineligible after joining on loan from Man Utd.
Rashford’s injury would have seen him miss this game anyway, but he’s been influential for the club in his six months on loan.
Villa hold a buy option worth £40 million but with no Champions League, coincidentally, thanks to Man Utd, it is dicey to predict whether they will trigger it.
Meanwhile, the player seems to have hinted at his future in a message to Villa.
Photo by Michael Steele/Getty Images
Photo by Michael Steele/Getty Images
Marcus Rashford message to Aston Villa
In many ways, Rashford should be extremely thankful for Villa since they’ve rehabbed his value which was at an all-time low after his fallout with Amorim.
Rashford gained a fan in Emery, a notoriously hard taskmaster, thus putting to rest some unprofessional narratives surrounding him.
It can be argued that Villa might have made the UCL before the final matchday if Rashford’s services were available to them.
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Therefore, it was a fruitful loan for the player ahead of an uncertain summer window, as the player himself has hinted towards.
He expressed his gratitude for Aston Villa, but with a hint of finality, perhaps in full knowledge that the club won’t exercise their buy option.
He said: “Just a message of thanks to everyone here at Villa for what has ( injury aside) been an incredible few months for me. It is a really special club and I appreciated the way Villa fans embraced me with open arms from 1st minute on the pitch. Manager, team, and coaching staff have all been brilliant.
“I know it is a huge disappointment not to have made the Champions League place which everyone worked so hard all season for but I know this club and team will come back stronger.”
What next for Marcus Rashford
At the time of writing, Rashford is faced with an uncomfortable prospect of returning to Carrington at the start of pre-season.
It is widely accepted that Rashford has played his last game for Man Utd but freezing him out again won’t be the solution.
Barcelona have expressed an interest, but Rashford’s wages will be a stumbling block, while United would want to sell permanently so they can reinvest that money.
Either way, his future lies away from the club but it is cruelly poetic that United ended up landing the final blow on the team that could have been a permanent home for him.