Manchester United replaced Marcus Rashford with Matheus Cunha before he had even secured a move away to Barcelona.
It became blindingly clear that Marcus Rashford’s time at Manchester United was up when he was frozen out of the squad by Ruben Amorim and loaned out to Aston Villa.
Even when Rashford returned to Carrington at the end of the season, he spent the summer trying to push through a loan move to Barcelona rather than work his way back into Amorim’s plans.
Rashford has blamed United’s environment for his inconsistency, and he has made it clear he would like to stay at Barcelona. There is a £26m buy option in his loan deal, so it is up to the Spanish side to decide whether or not to trigger it.
As for United, they have already moved on from the Carrington graduate, with Matheus Cunha now running the show at Old Trafford.
Man United fans compare Marcus Rashford and Matheus Cunha
Since joining from Wolves, Cunha has been outstanding for United, and he finally opened his goalscoring account for the club with a curling effort against Brighton.
Ruben Amorim was delighted with Cunha’s workrate against Brighton, and United’s club media have shone a spotlight on one moment in particular.
Cunha made a lung-busting run back to help his teammates defend, putting in a crunching tackle to deny Brighton a cross. United fans on social media couldn’t help but make comparisons with Rashford after seeing the moment again.
One supporter wrote: “What we all expected from Rashford, but no he was feeling too big for the club”.
Another added: “I’m really sorry Marcus Rashford, this is how it’s supposed to be done.”
“Nice to see the number 10 shirt work off the ball,” said another fan, referencing Rashford’s old shirt number at Old Trafford.
Another fan dragged Jadon Sancho into the conversation, questioning his work rate during his time at United too: “Rashford and Sancho can never”.
Matheus Cunha is an upgrade on Marcus Rashford
United handed Cunha the No.10 shirt, stripping it away from Rashford before he had even left the club.
It was symbolic of Amorim losing faith in Rashford, with United finally moving on after years of frustration.
READ MORE: What Matheus Cunha did after scoring his first Man Utd goal vs Brighton says it all
Frankly, Cunha has been an upgrade on Rashford, with the Brazilian never afraid to take charge of games and get stuck in whenever possible. In contrast, Rashford would often find himself uninvolved, especially when defending.
Rashford was recently slammed by Spanish press for his performance in his first El Clasico match, but he better hope that he has convinced Barcelona to sign him permanently as there is no longer a future for him at Old Trafford.
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