Pep Guardiola’s admiration for Marcus Rashford has resurfaced in a Manchester United conversation that is really about a familiar Old Trafford question: can a gifted local forward win back a demanding crowd through the weekly business of football?
Why it landed this week
- Manchester United
- Manchester City
- Marcus Rashford
- Pep Guardiola
Ryan Giggs recalled a dinner, held around eight or nine years ago, involving Sir Alex Ferguson and Guardiola, when the Manchester City manager was asked which United player he might have taken across town.
David de Gea and Luke Shaw were not the names Guardiola accepted when suggested. His choice, Giggs said, was Rashford. The City manager reportedly said he would have brought the forward into his squad immediately if the chance had existed.
The story emerged during a discussion hosted by Rio Ferdinand, and it comes at a moment when Rashford’s standing at United remains under scrutiny. The England international has endured uneven recent seasons, though his spell at Barcelona and subsequent return to Old Trafford under Michael Carrick have offered the prospect of a reset.
Giggs knows the club’s relationship with its supporters can be unforgiving. He reflected on periods in his own playing career when criticism and boos came his way, arguing that Rashford still has the opportunity to repair that bond.
Old Trafford’s uncomplicated demand
For Giggs and Ferdinand, the route back is not a complicated one. Rashford must rediscover the qualities expected of a leading United player: application, commitment and reliable performance.
Giggs placed particular emphasis on the work done without the ball and on maintaining a competitive edge from one match to the next. At Old Trafford, reputation may buy patience for a while, but it does not do the running.
Neither former United player regarded Rashford as a lost cause. Giggs believes the forward has sufficient time and ability to recover his best level and again become one of the club’s central figures.
Their conclusion was blunt in the proper football sense. Rashford will not need grand statements to change the mood; hard work, decisive moments and regular displays will do the speaking.
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Pep Guardiola’s Marcus Rashford admiration recalled by Ryan Giggs
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Ryan Giggs recalls Pep Guardiola naming Marcus Rashford as the Manchester United player he would have wanted at Manchester City.
