Marcus Rashford's agent makes frustrations clear in England statement after draw

The agent and brother of Marcus Rashford aimed a thinly-veiled dig at Gareth Southgate on social media after England’s dire draw with Denmark. Another poor display from the Three Lions saw them forced to settle for a point, having failed to impress at Euro 2024 thus far.

Rashford was one of several established stars to be left out of the England squad due to his muted form at club level. The 26-year-old only managed seven Premier League goals and two assists for Manchester United as the Red Devils laboured to an eighth-placed finish.

Taking to Instagram after England’s failure to beat Denmark, his agent and brother Dwaine Maynard appeared to criticise Southgate’s decision to overlook the forward with the Three Lions lacking bite in attack.

He wrote: “It’s hard to sit and watch when you honestly believe your man could make a difference!”

After England’s final squad for the Euros was announced, Southgate explained that he opted not to include Rashford because ‘other players have had better seasons’. The United forward, meanwhile, reacted to the news by wishing the England team well for the tournament.

Southgate instead chose to call up a handful of emerging talents such as Cole Palmer, Anthony Gordon and Eberechi Eze. Of those players, Eze is the only one to have featured at the Euros with Palmer and Gordon having been left on the bench in both of England’s matches.

Michael Owen suggested at the time that Rashford should have been included in Southgate’s squad, with the United man able to offer something different in attack thanks to his electric pace.

“Very surprised Gareth Southgate has left Marcus Rashford out of his squad,” wrote Owen on X, formerly Twitter. “Granted he’s had a poor season by his standards but tournament football is different and he’s always been confident in an England shirt.

“We have many talented attacking players but very few with Rashford’s pace. In such a big squad, he was worth the risk.”