Rashford reveals hilarious reason Van Gaal kept fining him

Robin Bairner

• 25 Feb 2023 21:15 GMT
• 3 min read

Marcus Rashford may be Manchester United’s star man, but in his younger days he did not always have it easy at Old Trafford – particularly from former manager Louis van Gaal.

Rashford has revealed that he was constantly fined by the Dutchman in his younger days at Old Trafford – and he has claimed that it wasn’t even his fault!

Van Gaal took charge of the Red Devils in 2014 as a replacement for David Moyes as Man Utd struggled to cope in the post-Sir Alex Ferguson era. Although he won the 2016 FA Cup, his time at Old Trafford was largely unremarkable.

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However, he brought Rashford into the first-team fold, with the teenager making an exciting impact as he scored eight times in 18 matches.

The England international, though, has revealed to Sky Sports that his time under Van Gaal had it’s problems.

“I used to get fined every Thursday,” Rashford revealed. “Van Gaal used to tell me I have to finish my college work and get to training, it was non-negotiable. I had 12 minutes to get to training from college!

“He probably didn’t know the two things [college & training] contradicted until he fined me the 4th time!”

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Van Gaal's part in Rashford's Man Utd story

Rashford had just one season under Van Gaal, who was replaced by Jose Mourinho and subsequently Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. Indeed, he had a tricky relationship with the Portuguese, having been singled out for criticism for not following instructions of the coaching staff.

Now 25 years old, he is playing the best football of his career to date under Erik ten Hag and has already notched a career-best tally of 24 goals in all competitions this season. Having struck a rich vein of form following the World Cup, he has struck 14 times in the Premier League and is closing in on his personal best of 17.

On Sunday, though, the attentions of Rashford and Manchester United switch to the EFL Cup as they chase the first silverware of the year when they tackle Newcastle at Wembley.