Marcus deserves acclaim

I’M pleased but not surprised that Marcus Rashford is having a storming tournament.

This is some turnaround from what looked a potential low point after missing his penalty in the final of Euro 2020 last summer — then having to endure disgusting racial abuse on social media.

Marcus is a brilliant individual, and I’ve watched him grow up into a player and a person who always wants to contribute, on and off the pitch. I was 12 or 13 and making my way in Manchester United’s youth academy when Marcus first arrived aged seven.

And I was in my 20s when he made his first-team United debut as a teenager, and then he was playing for England within a few months after that!

For England he has been a trailblazer. Roy Hodgson had said it was unlikely Marcus would go to Euro 2016 but he did, becoming the youngest England player ever at a Euros. And before that, he’d made his debut in a friendly against Australia, wearing the No9 shirt and scoring the opener to become the youngest Lion ever to net on his international debut.

If he was tearing it up on the field back then he was still quiet, even timid, at 18 and 19 and it’s amazing to see the man he has become today. His activism on food poverty has rightly been lauded, helping to force change in a government’s policy.

All this makes it all the more baffling that he became so vilified by racist idiots after Euro 2020. It can get to you; I’ve had abuse over the years. But it can also make you stronger. And Marcus is resilient, focused and has come back strong.