Ronaldo’s message to Marcus after FA Cup snub
CRISTIANO Ronaldo sent Marcus Rashford a motivational message on a Real Madrid shirt after the England international missed out on a starting spot in the FA Cup semi-final.
The striker is a big fan of United’s former No 7 and couldn’t wait to show off his new gift to his followers on social media.
The shirt read: “To Marcus, keep up the good work.”
The England international posted the picture on his Instagram page along with the caption ‘thanks boss’.
It’s not the first gift Rashford has received from the former United star.
Earlier in the month Ronaldo sent a him a pair of his limited edition Nike trainers which carry his CR7 logo on the back.
Rashford is a big fan of Ronaldo and has previously spoken about his admiration for the Portuguese star.
“I used to watch a lot of him growing up, all of his games,” he said.
“He was obviously a top player who won a lot of things in his career, so when you know he’s saying good things about you then it really stands out.
“He always played free. No matter where he was playing, he played free and went out there and expressed himself. When you do that, that’s when you play your best football.”
Rashford, 20, has been pushed down the pecking order since Alexis Sanchez arrived and had to settle for a place on the bench in the FA Cup semi-final win against Spurs. THE most enduring image from United’s latest Tottenham comeback was not Ander Herrera clutching the crest in front of crestfallen Cockneys or Alexis Sanchez strutting around topless at full-time, but Phil Jones celebrating a goal kick!
Harry Kane was wriggling in Chris Smalling’s pocket, but the United centre-half quelled the Spurs striker as the ball trickled out of play.
Jones euphorically barged into his team-mate and friend while the more measured Smalling, after a brief glance at the knackered Kane, returned to the pitch, where Jones shoved him again.
“I love my battles against H,” Smalling smiled in the mixed zone. It is a nickname for Kane, but was also easily construed as a subtle putdown.
By the time he had returned for his post-match shower, the FA Cup Twitter account had asked Smalling what was in his pocket. ‘Harry Kane’ was the clip’s reply. How ironic the FA should champion a defender their national team manager has ostracised.
Kane and Mo Salah, with 57 Premier League goals between them, have failed to register in four games against United this season.
Nor have Sergio Aguero or Raheem Sterling, third and fourth in the goalscoring chart.
Save for Liverpool’s Old Trafford visit last month, United’s defensive axis against Liverpool and Spurs this season was Smalling and Jones.
Smalling possesses a curious resilience and has not been dropped by Jose Mourinho since he regained his place on September 30.
He is a constant in the defence and four of the the 28-yearold’s 17 United career goals have come in 3-2 comeback victories - two of them in the last two months.
Smalling is unmovable, if not untouchable, which is some going after Mourinho invested £60.9m in central defenders and could sign another this summer.
Jones was probably the better defender at the weekend and save for that lump of an own goal at Tottenham and an awkward afternoon at Newcastle, his form this season is solid and the campaign would have been more fulfilling had he not spent a combined three months out injured. It is perverse Marcos Rojo received a new contract ahead of Jones. His deal expires next year and so does Smalling’s, although the option of an additional year effectively ties them to United until 2020. Many managers would look at United’s goals-against column in the league (26) and number of clean sheets (also 26) and resist enhancing a defence that has already accommodated two overseas centre-backs in recent years. Yet Mourinho is refusing to get lulled into a false sense of security and ideally wants three new defenders to replace three likely outgoings (Matteo Darmian, Luke Shaw and Daley Blind, a leftback, a right-back and a centre-back. Few wingers terrorise Antonio Valencia, but Spurs’ Son Heung-min made the Ecuadorian look like the auxiliary right-back