Like Cristiano Ronaldo, the talent was never in question with Marcus Rashford. The only question was whether we’d see him fulfil his potential at Manchester United.
It’s absurd to think now, as Ronaldo winds down a career that’s almost unparalleled when it comes to the ridiculous number of goals scored and trophies lifted, that there was a time when people questioned whether the Portuguese superstar was all that.
He arrived at Old Trafford as a teenager as a raw but undeniably gifted prospect. It was clear from day one that he had something about him, and he’d show more than a few flashes of that frightening potential.
But for three seasons, he wasn’t yet a world-beater. The consistency wasn’t there. There was an immaturity to his decision-making. Always one too many step-overs.
By the time he returned to Old Trafford as a centre forward that had distilled his game to being a lethal penalty box poacher, it’s almost comical to think at one point you’d characterise his game as “inefficient”.
That was the case for his first three years in England, as Sir Alex Ferguson’s side were left in the wake of Arsenal’s Invincibles and Jose Mourinho’s imperial-era Chelsea. Ronaldo was ever-improving but lightyears off the five-time Ballon d’Or-winner he’d one day become.
“I believed he was one of the best forwards at a very young age, but he wasn’t productive enough. We needed him to score more goals,” recalled former United assistant coach Rene Meulensteen in an interview with in The Coaches Voice. “I knew that was what he wanted too.
“My aim was to bring him from awareness to understanding. To recognise how he could get from where he was to where he wanted to be. That was about a few things off the pitch, but a lot of things on it.”
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READ: ‘He did the most audacious piece of skill’ – Ronaldo’s early days at Man Utd
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Ronaldo was shown a red card against Portsmouth in the early weeks of the 2007-08 campaign. He was subsequently suspended for three games and from there he returned a different beast.
He scored 31 Premier League goals that season. The Champions League and Ballon d’Or followed. Then the move to Real Madrid. The rest is history.
Rashford’s career trajectory has been a different story entirely. He’s now into his eighth season at United and is three years older than Ronaldo was in 2007. At the age of 25, Ronaldo was at Madrid and already averaging almost a goal a…
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