Erik ten Hag has told Marcus Rashford his decision to go nightclubbing after the Manchester derby defeat was unacceptable.
Mail Sport revealed this week the United and England forward spent the evening in the Chinawhite nightclub in Manchester on Sunday celebrating his 26th birthday.
Manager Ten Hag said: ‘I spoke with him about it. It’s unacceptable. He apologised and that is it. For us it’s an internal matter.’
Rashford is unlikely to be fined given that he was not out within 48 hours of United’s next game, the 3-0 Carabao Cup defeat to Newcastle on Wednesday.
But Ten Hag is understood to be irritated by the perception of one of his big players being out on the town so soon after an abject team performance against City. United also lost that game 3-0.
Rashford is available for this lunchtime’s crunch Premier League game at Fulham and Ten Hag said: ‘He’s very motivated to put things right. He’s totally with us.
‘He has made a mistake but that doesn’t say he’s not fitting in. I see him every day in training, what he’s doing, I know.’
Rashford has clashed with Ten Hag before. Last season he was dropped for a game at Wolves after being late for a meeting.
Meanwhile, Ten Hag was asked if the number of managers United have had since Sir Alex Ferguson retired indicates something is not right at Old Trafford.
‘It’s possible,’ he said. ‘But sometimes you have difficult periods and when you stick together, and we are, you come through.’
Industry insiders say a huge cash injection from Sir Jim Ratcliffe ‘will not touch the sides’ when it comes to a redevelopment of Old Trafford.
Ratcliffe’s £1.3billion deal to buy 25 per cent of United will be announced soon. And Ratcliffe will also commit £245million to improve facilities at the club.
But experts warned the sum, should it be spent entirely on a decaying Old Trafford, will not be transformative. ‘It will be a long way short of what is needed,’ one source said. ‘This will not touch the sides.
‘If they were to extend the Sir Bobby Charlton Stand and create thousands of new corporate hospitality places then they would need more than this. That’s before you talk about the roof, the other stands and the training ground.’
Toto Wolff is talking to Ratcliffe about investing in United — and Lewis Hamilton could be interested too.
Wolff and Ratcliffe each hold a one-third stake in the Mercedes Formula One team.
The Austrian said: ‘If I felt I could contribute then I would consider joining him. Lewis is in my very close circle of friends. We talk about career planning a lot. I would like to be part of his future.’
Olivia Martin is a dedicated sports journalist based in the UK. With a passion for various athletic disciplines, she covers everything from major league championships to local sports events, delivering up-to-the-minute updates and in-depth analysis.