Marcus Rashford has picked Raheem Sterling as his number one inspiration.
Manchester United’s Marcus Rashford is in awe of Manchester City forward Raheem Sterling. He states that Sterling has helped him find his own voice.
Asked who his football inspirations are, Rashford said: “The most recent one was probably Raheem when he started speaking about the issues that he has faced.
“For me, Raheem showed me if you’re not happy about something say it and make people aware of it. It’s not a crime to tell people what you think, it’s probably the biggest thing that sparked change for me.”
Rashford also praised England head coach Gareth Southgate.
“Since Gareth has come in we have done a lot of work off the pitch, with people coming from different communities – these are the best players in England but everyone is from different places,” Rashford said.
“He found a way to bring us all together but it was natural, it wasn’t forced and no-one felt forced to speak about things they don’t want to. And when situations have occurred we have managed to just deal with it but we didn’t deal with it as individuals.
“I know some players in the past I have spoken to on racist issues they [have had to] deal with it themselves. The way that we have dealt with situations in recent times, it’s been amazing, literally everyone together.
“The game in Bulgaria [the racist abuse] was literally happening from the beginning of the game. I think one of the main reasons why he had the strength to carry on and just ignore it and play our football was because of that bond.”
