MANCHESTER: Marcus Rashford decried Manchester United’s lack of strategy as leaving the English giants in “no man’s land” after joining Barcelona on loan.

The 27-year-old, who played 426 times for United after coming through the club’s academy, left Old Trafford in January for a loan spell at Aston Villa after falling out of favour with new manager Ruben Amorim.

United went on to have their worst season since being relegated in 1973/74 as they finished 15th in the Premier League and failed to qualify for European competition.

Rashford believes the root of United’s problems is in the instability caused by appointing six different managers since Alex Ferguson retired in 2013.

“We have been way below where we deem United to be but then if you take a step back, which I’ve been able to do, especially over these last six months, what do you expect?” Rashford told the Rest Is Football podcast.

“When Liverpool went through this, they got (Jurgen) Klopp, they stuck with him. They didn’t win in the beginning. People only remember his final few years when he was competing with (Man­chester) City and winning the biggest trophies.

“To start a transition, you have to make a plan and stick to it. It’s not easy to do. But this is where I speak about being realistic with what your situation is.

“We’ve had that many different managers, different ideas and different strategies to win that you end up in no man’s land.”

United have failed to even contend for the Premier League title or the Champions League since Ferguson’s departure.

Rashford is one of the few success stories for the Red Devils in that time.

After breaking into the team as an 18-year-old in 2016, he went on to score 138 goals for the club, winning two FA Cups and two League Cups.

However, he believes the winning culture embedded during Ferguson’s 27-year tenure has been worn away.

“When Ferguson was in charge, not only were there principles for the first team but they were for the whole academy,” Rashford added.

“Any team that has been successful over a period of time, they have principles that mean that any coach or player that comes in has to align to or add to the principles.

“At times, United were hungry to win... but it was reactionary. If your direction is always changing, you can’t expect to win the league.”

Rashford appears to have played his last game for United with his move to Barca containing a option to buy for a reported 35 million euros.

Published in Dawn, August 14th, 2025