(Reuters) – England forward Marcus Rashford considered leaving Manchester United before the 2022-23 season but said he decided to remain at Old Trafford after being allowed to play with more freedom under new manager Erik ten Hag.
Rashford won United’s Player of the Year and Players’ Player of the Year awards following a stellar campaign in which he scored 30 goals across all competitions as the club finished third in the Premier League and won the League Cup.
The 25-year-old, a product of United’s youth system, signed a five-year contract with the club earlier this month.
Asked if he had thought about moving away from United before the previous season, Rashford told British media: “Before the manager came maybe a little bit.
“But it’s football, it happens. Everything is going to happen for a reason and he came to the club at the right time for me, the timing worked out,” he added, before explaining what had changed under Ten Hag.
“Freedom — we were just a little bit rigid in the past, sometimes you’re not enjoying your football and that was the case with me. I wasn’t enjoying my football as much as I should be, as much I was used to enjoying it.
“Because of that it influenced my performance and ultimately that’s how I am as a person; if I’m not happy then it’s difficult for me to play my best football.”
United kick off their Premier League campaign on Aug. 14 at home against Wolverhampton Wanderers.
(Reporting by Aadi Nair in Bengaluru; editing by Clare Fallon)
