It's easy to speak now - Rashford took a swipe at the Red Devils

Marcus Rashford has hinted that Manchester United’s “inconsistent environment” may have played a role in his own struggles to maintain top form throughout his career.

The 27-year-old forward departed Old Trafford in the summer, joining Barcelona on a season-long loan that includes an option to buy. Since arriving in Spain, Rashford has quickly found his rhythm, notching three goals and five assists in just ten matches for the Catalan side.

CRASHford: master of self-sabotage

His resurgence has also kept him firmly in Thomas Tuchel’s England plans ahead of next summer’s FIFA World Cup. Speaking to ITV before England’s qualifier against Latvia on Tuesday, Rashford was asked about Tuchel’s claim that the winger only needs consistency to reach world-class status.

In response, Rashford admitted that steadiness is something he’s still striving for — but implied that his former club’s instability had made that difficult. “For sure, consistency is a massive part of it,” Rashford said.

“I feel like I have been in an inconsistent environment for a very long time, so it is even more difficult to be consistent. But I completely agree, I think consistency is what I need to bring into my game and I am looking to do that.”

Since breaking into United’s senior team under Louis van Gaal in 2016, Rashford played under a carousel of managers — four permanent and three interim — with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer overseeing his most stable and productive spell.

Under Solskjaer, he hit 22 goals and nine assists in 2019–20, then followed up with 21 goals and 13 assists the next season. However, the departure of the Norwegian coincided with a sharp decline in form, as Rashford managed just five goals and two assists under Ralf Rangnick’s interim tenure.

He bounced back under Erik ten Hag in 2022–23, delivering his best-ever return of 30 goals and nine assists across all competitions — a reminder of the level he can reach when surrounded by the right conditions.