“This trio of players I shared the pitch with at Manchester United ranks among the finest I’ve played alongside in my entire career. If INEOS manages to secure a few more top-notch players, that team has the potential to dominate the football world. They exemplify the same winning mentality that I have,” Cristiano Ronaldo emphasized, excluding Marcus Rashford when identifying the three ‘top professionals’ in the Man Utd squad who stand out for their exceptional abilities.

“This trio of players I shared the pitch with at Manchester United ranks among the finest I’ve played alongside in my entire career. If INEOS manages to secure a few more top-notch players, that team has the potential to dominate the football world. They exemplify the same winning mentality that I have,” Cristiano Ronaldo emphasized, excluding Marcus Rashford when identifying the three ‘top professionals’ in the Man Utd squad who stand out for their exceptional abilities.

Cristiano Ronaldo previously overlooked Marcus Rashford when identifying the top three professionals in the Manchester United squad. Ronaldo, who left Manchester United in 2022, openly discussed his teammates during a Talk TV interview, revealing that he admired players like Diogo Dalot, highlighting his professionalism and predicting a long-lasting career. While mentioning Lisandro Martinez and Casemiro, Ronaldo omitted Rashford from the list of the top professionals at United during his second stint with the club. This exclusion is noteworthy, especially in light of Rashford’s current challenges under manager Erik ten Hag.

On Sunday, Ten Hag assured that he would address Rashford’s absence after the English star was not part of United’s 4-2 FA Cup victory over Newport County. Rashford claimed to be unwell on Friday, following an alleged night out at a Belfast nightclub.

Ten Hag commented on the situation after the FA Cup match, stating, “He reported ill. The rest is an internal matter. I deal with it; we will deal with it.” If Rashford is facing consequences for a disciplinary matter, it would be the second instance in just over a year where he has been omitted for such reasons. In December 2022, he was left out of the starting XI against Wolves for arriving late to a team meeting. Additionally, earlier this season, Rashford had to apologize to Ten Hag for hosting a birthday party shortly after United’s 3-0 loss to local rivals Manchester City. At that time, Ten Hag deemed the behavior “unacceptable.”