Rooney Challenges Rashford to Break Goalscoring Record at Manchester United
Wayne Rooney believes Marcus Rashford is the only player capable of breaking his Manchester United goalscoring record – but only if he rediscovers his hunger for the club.
Rooney, whose 253 goals keep him clear at the top of United’s all-time charts, used his new podcast, Stick to United, to lay down a blunt challenge to the 28-year-old forward, whose Old Trafford career is about to be rebooted.
Rooney’s challenge to Rashford
Rashford returns to United after Barcelona chose not to make last season’s loan permanent, and he has been involved in Michael Carrick’s pre-season plans. A previous loan spell at Aston Villa in 2025 had hinted at a future away from Old Trafford, and Rooney made it clear the forward has ground to make up.
"It’s just such a strange one with Marcus because I think we know he’s got the ability. I think he’s shown that," Rooney said. "For me, has he got the hunger, does he want to play for Manchester United?"
Rooney drew on his own experience of turbulence with the club to underline what Rashford must do next.
"Now, if he wants to play for Manchester United, I think the first thing he has to do – I’ve been there in 2010 when I asked to leave the football club – he has to build a relationship with the fans," he said.
"The easiest way to do that is to work hard and body language. I think Marcus’ body language isn’t great, and so it might be something he has to work on. He might have to work with someone to make his body language look better."
Body language, work rate and the record in sight
Rooney did not sugar-coat his view of Rashford’s on-pitch demeanour or intensity.
"I think his work rate has to improve, but if he wants to be at the football club, he just needs to knuckle down," he said. "You do it, and he’s a young lad. He’s from Manchester. He’s the one player who can go and get my goalscoring record."
Rashford sits 15th on United’s all-time list with 138 goals, a long way back from Rooney but still close enough to keep the conversation alive if he can reignite his career in a United shirt.
He has not played for the club since December 2024, when he fell out of favour under then-manager Ruben Amorim before heading out on temporary spells at Villa Park and Camp Nou.
‘I want to see him doing well at Manchester United’
Rooney made it clear his admiration for Rashford’s talent comes with a demand: that it is channelled back into United.
"I don’t want to see Marcus Rashford doing well at Aston Villa or doing well at Barcelona," he said. "I want to see him doing well at Manchester United and scoring goals for Manchester United. But that means he has to he has to just get his head down, work his socks off, and then be more positive."
For Rooney, the turning point will not come from a manager or a system, but from Rashford’s own choices and the people he allows into his inner circle.
"But it’s on him. If he’s back playing for Manchester United, I think he has to have a real close look at who’s round him," Rooney continued. "Only he can say who the people are around him who he really trusts. Because there’s not many people you trust really. It’d be a small amount of people, keep them close to him, go into training, work hard, get himself right. If he does that, he’ll be fine."
The record is there, the pathway is clear. Now the question hangs over Old Trafford: does Marcus Rashford still have the desire to chase down history in Manchester red?
