Marcus Rashford Turns 20: How ‘late Developer’ Grew Into a Superstar

 Marcus Rashford celebrates scoring opn his Manchester United against FC Midtjylland in the Europa League only 18 months ago. Photograph: John Peters/Man Utd via Getty Images
Marcus Rashford celebrates scoring opn his Manchester United against FC Midtjylland in the Europa League only 18 months ago. Photograph: John Peters/Man Utd via Getty Images
TT

Marcus Rashford Turns 20: How ‘late Developer’ Grew Into a Superstar

 Marcus Rashford celebrates scoring opn his Manchester United against FC Midtjylland in the Europa League only 18 months ago. Photograph: John Peters/Man Utd via Getty Images
Marcus Rashford celebrates scoring opn his Manchester United against FC Midtjylland in the Europa League only 18 months ago. Photograph: John Peters/Man Utd via Getty Images

The thrill for Marcus Rashford as he turns 20 is where the rest of his career might take him.

In 18 months the boy who ceases to be a teenager on Halloween has claimed FA Cup, Europa League and EFL Cup winners’ medals for Manchester United. He has made his England bow, played at Euro 2016 and scored on his senior, Premier League, FA Cup, EFL Cup, Champions League and international debuts. This is a young star who, each time opportunity knocks, smashes down the door to grab it.

The United trainee’s rise has been so rapid it seems barely credible that his first appearance came in February of last year. Then, Rashford seized his chance against FC Midtylland at Old Trafford, scoring twice in a Europa League last‑32 second leg as Louis van Gaal’s side won 5-1. Rashford started only because Anthony Martial limped out of the warm-up and Will Keane, who should have been among the replacements, was also injured.

“You can’t predict what the outcome, the reaction will be when somebody goes out in front of 75,000,” says Kenny Swain, Rashford’s England Under-16 manager. “When you do like Marcus did, it gives the coaching staff such a thrill. You see his performance, how well he did, and think: ‘Wow! I wouldn’t have predicted that, he’s just played out of his skin.’ It is almost like an out-of-body experience – that’s what Marcus did.”

As a junior footballer Rashford possessed glittering potential but lagged behind peers in physical development. A first taste of the big time came when Van Gaal chose him as a substitute for the Premier League match at Watford on 21 October 2015. Rashford was 10 days from turning 18 and, alongside him, was Sean Goss, two years his senior.

Goss, a midfielder who left for Queens Park Rangers in January, says: “We’d been training the week building up – the first team had a problem with all the strikers getting injured and people automatically thought the older lads would be on the bench. We trained and Marcus did really well, better than the older lads, so he got his chance and me as well, which ended up in us going to Watford.

“We got told on the Friday afternoon by Ryan Giggs [Van Gaal’s assistant]. Marcus wasn’t in our changing room because he was in the youth team then. I got told and the other two lads who had been training with us were with me in the reserve changing room but didn’t get told anything. We all naturally thought it would be one of them. Then on the bus on the way to the airport Marcus came on and was buzzing. He hasn’t looked back since, has he?

There has been scant time to. Swain, who selected Rashford for two under-16 matches in 2012, describes the youthful Rashford in glowing terms. “Pure technical – wonderful balance,” says the 65-year-old, a league and European Cup winner with Aston Villa. “He was always at one with the ball; he could roll it, stroke it about. The best talent I’ve seen have usually got that. People would talk about George Best in his day and he was such a wonderful mover on the ball. Marcus had that, h. He was very graceful, the way he moves.

“Things like power, strength, acceleration don’t come until a bit later. He’s acquired those now, he’s picked up tremendous pace, and is much stronger.”

Rashford would have featured more for Swain’s under-16s but United were careful to protect a lad who has been theirs since the age of seven. Swain says: “Marcus was a late developer. He was a talented boy, no doubt. I’d seen him play for Man United a couple of times, he came into the training camp and only played two Victory Shield games. He was way underdeveloped compared with others of his age.

“In terms of his limited appearances that was down to an understanding I had with the United coaches. His progress was carefully plotted and [the view was] exposure with England would’ve been too much at that stage. I understood that, so his chances were limited at under-16.”

Rashford’s 53 appearances under José Mourinho last season were the side’s most. The manager often uses him in a wide role, though his breakthrough came at centre-forward, his preferred position.

Goss witnessed how much Rashford, a captain of United’s under-19s, wanted to make it. “He’s always had a little something; he maybe wasn’t fully grown into his body then,” Goss says. “You could just tell there was still a lot to come but he definitely had that part where he could change the game in an instant. He works his nuts off in training and outside of it. He’s one of those who absolutely loves football. I’m sure he could train all day and would want to go home and play football. That’s the way it is – whether it’s five-a-side with his mates, skills in his living room, he’s got that passion.”

Goss still talks with Rashford regularly and says success has not affected a player for whom the bidding would start at £80m-plus. “He really is mature for his age, down to earth. Nothing’s changed him, which has really helped in some ways, because he’s not got ahead of himself and he’s always looking to improve. He knows who his friends are; he wouldn’t get sucked into any bad eggs – he keeps himself to himself. It is the maturity thing. He’s always hung around with people older than him, which has pushed him because he’s been competing against people who are older.”

Rashford’s 2015-16 campaign ended with eight goals in 18 United appearances, plus one in three for England. Last season’s 53 games yielded 11 goals, plus five more international caps, with Mourinho arguing that Rashford’s third term would prove a step-change in development and form.

So far the Portuguese is correct: in 15 matches the return is seven goals (plus one in four for England) and the 6ft 1in Rashford continues to impress with his game-breaking blend of directness, dribbling and pace.

Mourinho’s trust will again be illustrated by choosing Rashford to replace Romelu Lukaku should the Belgian be rested for Tuesday night’s visit of Benfica for the fourth Champions League Group A match. If so, Rashford will calmly expect he can turn in another scintillating display for his boyhood team.

Goss says: “It’s definitely a dream for him – he was at the academy from a young age. And he’s only going to get better as well. He’s not going to take his foot off the gas. He will always work hard. I do believe that he will get far better as a player. He has got that mental edge that can take you so far and whenever he’s playing he truly thinks: ‘Right, I’m better than you, I’m going to try my tricks.’ He thrives off the big occasions. He’ll want to do something special to get his team a goal or get his team a win, which with a player that age is massive.”

Rashford has always been focused on what can push him on. “Marcus, even though he lived in Manchester, moved out young,” Goss says. “He went into digs, did the same as all the other lads, training with the older age groups. As much as at the time you probably don’t like it, don’t think it’s the best for you, in the long run it will help.”

If Rashford’s nascent career has been glittering, his future could be whatever he wishes. As Goss adds: “He’ll never settle for not being the best.”

The Guardian Sport



Alcaraz Crowned King of Queen's for Second Time

Carlos Alcaraz of Spain celebrates with his trophy after winning against Jiri Lehecka of Czechia during their final match at the Queen's Club Championships tennis tournament in London, Britain, 22 June 2025.  EPA/ANDY RAIN
Carlos Alcaraz of Spain celebrates with his trophy after winning against Jiri Lehecka of Czechia during their final match at the Queen's Club Championships tennis tournament in London, Britain, 22 June 2025. EPA/ANDY RAIN
TT

Alcaraz Crowned King of Queen's for Second Time

Carlos Alcaraz of Spain celebrates with his trophy after winning against Jiri Lehecka of Czechia during their final match at the Queen's Club Championships tennis tournament in London, Britain, 22 June 2025.  EPA/ANDY RAIN
Carlos Alcaraz of Spain celebrates with his trophy after winning against Jiri Lehecka of Czechia during their final match at the Queen's Club Championships tennis tournament in London, Britain, 22 June 2025. EPA/ANDY RAIN

Carlos Alcaraz clinched his second Queen's Club title as the world number two warmed up for Wimbledon with a 7-5, 6-7 (5/7), 6-2 win against Jiri Lehecka in Sunday's final.

Alcaraz blasted 33 winners and 18 aces to subdue the gritty Czech world number 30 in two hours and 10 minutes in west London.

Having won titles on clay at the French Open, Rome and Monte Carlo, as well as the hard courts of Rotterdam, Alcaraz has now collected five trophies in 2025.

The 22-year-old has not lost since the Barcelona final against Holger Rune on April 20 and is enjoying the longest winning streak of his career with 18 successive victories, AFP reported.

Top seeded Alcaraz is just the second Spanish man to win Queen's twice after Feliciano Lopez, who lifted the trophy in 2017 and 2019.

"I'm happy to lift this trophy once again. It's a nightmare to play against Jiri, but it's been an incredible week," Alcaraz said.

"I came without expectations. I just wanted to play good tennis and get used to the grass.

"It's really special playing here every year. I can't wait to come back next year."

For a player raised on the clay courts of Spain, Alcaraz has developed into a formidable force on grass.

The former world number one signalled his emergence on the surface by winning Queen's in 2023.

He clinched the Wimbledon title for the first time just weeks later and defended his All England Club crown last year.

Alcaraz, who has an 11-1 career record at Queen's, will start his bid for a third successive Wimbledon title on June 30.

After his semi-final win over Roberto Bautista Agut on Saturday, Alcaraz fired an ominous message to his Wimbledon rivals, warning that his "grass-court mode" had been activated.

And on the evidence of his relentless display against the obdurate Lehecka, he is in no mood to surrender his All England Club crown.

Playing his first tournament since his epic French Open victory against Jannik Sinner two weeks ago, Alcaraz's march to the Queen's showpiece made it five consecutive finals for the Spaniard.

In contrast, Lehecka was playing in his first grass-court final after a shock win against British star Jack Draper in the last four.

The 23-year-old was the first Czech in the Queen's final since Ivan Lendl in 1990.

Lehecka had come from a set down to stun Alcaraz in the Qatar Open quarter-finals in February.

But there would be no repeat of that upset on the lawns of Barons Court.

In his second Queen's final, Alcaraz had an early chance to break in the fifth game of the first set.

Lehecka thundered down an ace to get out of trouble of that occasion.

But the five-time Grand Slam champion matched Lehecka's serve blow for blow, dropping just one point in his first four service games.

Alcaraz's piercing ground-strokes increased the pressure and Lehecka finally cracked in the the 11th game when an badly-timed double-fault gifted the first break to the Spaniard.

Alcaraz served out the set in typically ruthless fashion, but Lehecka refused to surrender without a fight.

A tight second set stayed on serve all the way through to the tie-break and, for once, Alcaraz stumbled with a key double-fault, allowing Lehecka to level the match.

Alcaraz was unfazed, breaking for a 3-1 lead in the deciding set when Lehecka netted an off-balance forehand.

Alcaraz had the finish line in sight and he wrapped up his latest title triumph with a flurry of searing winners.