Manchester United legend Teddy Sheringham believes Marcus Rashford does not deserve the “step up” to Barcelona as he looks to depart Old Trafford.
Rashford has spent a decade at United, scoring 138 goals in 426 appearances. He went on loan to Aston Villa in January after falling out with Ruben Amorim.
After a successful few months at Villa Park, where he scored four goals and assisted six times in 17 matches, it was expected Villa would agree to the £40m clause to sign Rashford permanently.
After missing out on Champions League football on the last day though, Villa opted not to make the deal permanent, leaving Rashford stuck in limbo.
He has made it clear he wants to leave the club and has handed in a transfer request, with links to Barcelona hotting up after Nico Williams signed a new deal at Athletic Bilbao.
Sheringham, who won the treble in his four years at United, does not believe Rashford has earned the right to a move to the Nou Camp though, in a potential deal he describes as “soul-destroying”.
He told Sky Bet: “If you assess where Marcus Rashford is at as a professional footballer, you strive as a youngster to get to the very top and play for clubs like Manchester United, and when you’re there, you appreciate it.
“You don’t throw it away and say you want to leave, I find the whole episode very soul-destroying, compared to the way I was back in the day and how I strove to get the privilege to play for such a huge football club.
“To hear someone talking the way he is talking, saying he wants out — I didn’t like Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang doing that at Arsenal, I thought it was soul-destroying, and I hope Rashford doesn’t get the move that he’s hankering for.
“From my perspective, if you go from Manchester United to Barcelona, that’s a step up that he hasn’t deserved.”
Rashford is one of five players who have made it clear they wish to depart Old Trafford this summer, with fellow forwards Jadon Sancho, Alejandro Garnacho and Antony also looking for a way out, as well as full back Tyrell Malacia.
Antony and Sancho, who were loaned to Real Betis and Chelsea respectively last season, rank second and fourth on Manchester United’s all-time most expensive signings.
Having both joined for north of €85m ($98.6m), Sheringham is fully aware it will be difficult to get decent money back for the pair, while Garnacho, Rashford and Malacia are likely to go for far less than their market value.
“It’s very easy to spend money on players, but it’s hard to recoup it,” Sheringham added.
“It seems quiet, but I bet there’s lots going on behind the scenes at Manchester United. Other clubs know United’s position.
“They’ve made it known that they’re looking to sell around five players, which signals to other clubs to make them ridiculous offers.
“United want these players off the books – they’ve made their bed and they’ve got to lie in it.
“They’ll probably take anything from a quarter to a fifth of their asking price for some of them.”
