Marcus Rashford’s ill-advised trip to Northern Ireland, which saw him go on a ’12-hour tequila bender’, has raised questions about his inner circle.
Rashford is known to keep it particularly small, only trusting a small number of people when he is away from Manchester United.
But multiple disciplinary issues at Old Trafford since Erik ten Hag arrived as manager in 2022 is cause for concern, with Rashford appearing out of sorts and as if he is carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders this season.
The England star has got nowhere near the 30-goal return he managed last season and is now at the centre of a row over missing training after a boozy night out hours before over in Belfast.
Mail Sport takes a closer look at the individuals that are trying to keep Rashford on the straight and narrow…
Marcus Rashford’s inner circle includes best friend Jamie Hendley (far left) and brothers Dane (second from right) and Dwaine (far right) who have acted as his agent in recent years
Rashford is under the microscope following multiple disciplinary problems at Man United
Dwaine Maynard
His older brother Dwaine is one of the most influential figures in Rashford’s life.
Maynard, who runs the DN May Sports Management which oversees upcoming young athletes in various sports, focuses on negotiating the best contracts for clients, with his younger brother top of that list.
He played a critical role in helping Rashford ink a £315,000-a-week deal last summer, which will net him £78million if he sees it out until 2028 at Old Trafford.
Maynard was the one tasked with having a meeting with Paris Saint-Germain and it is noticeable that Rashford trusts his business interests implicitly with Maynard.
On the official website of DN May Sports Management, Maynard, who has two young children, is listed as the managing director and has mentioned the fact he is a FA Registered Intermediary.
Along with Dane Rashford, the brothers act as Marcus’s agents, although that is in some jeopardy after they failed the FA’s new exam in the summer.
Rashford pictured signing his lucrative new £315,000-a-week deal alongside brother Dwaine
Dane Rashford
His other older brother Dane is listed as co-founder of the DN May Sports Management.
While Dwaine was imperative to his new deal, Dane was essential in helping Rashford secure his previous £250k-a-week deal in 2019.
Rashford has two brothers and three sisters – Tamara, Chantelle and Claire – but it is his brothers that have helped navigate his contracts and renewals at United.
Dane hit the headlines after he allegedly attacked his girlfriend after discovering messages from an unnamed Premier League star in Miami earlier this year before charges brought in the US were eventually ‘dismissed’.
He pleaded not guilty to the charges of battery and was released on a $1,500 bond following the incident in Miami at the Kimpton Angler’s Hotel.
The news of the arrest broke minutes after Man United’s 4-3 loss to Copenhagen in the Champions League, in which Rashford was sent off in the first half of action.
The incident was later described as a ‘misunderstanding’, with a source telling the Telegraph that Dane did not even appear in court and has now had the charges dismissed.
Dane Rashford helped his younger brother secure a previously lucrative contact back in 2019
Jamie Hendley
One of the most important pieces to Rashford’s circle.
The 26-year-old traces all the way back to breakfast club in Button Lane Primary school, where Rashford would go as his mother worked multiple jobs as a single mum to provide for her family.
Hendley recently set up a property management company called Purposed Properties Ltd, which is said to be launching in the near future.
As a close confidant for Rashford, Hendley is regularly kept close by and has been right by his side along the way, making trips to Miami and Mykonos, as well as partying alongside Rashford and Chris Brown in Ibiza.
He has become close with Jesse Lingard, as well as Rashford’s brothers, and is someone that Rashford trusts implicitly, like a third brother.
Hendley (right) has known Rashford (left) since their time at Button Lane Primary school
They have been inseperable ever since and the Man United star considers Hendley a ‘brother’
Ashley Leather
Another of Rashford’s lifelong friends that goes back to his school days.
While it appears that Rashford does not follow Leather, someone he has termed a ‘very good footballer’ at non-league level, on Instagram, he is a mainstay in Rashford’s tightknit circle.
He shed light on the importance of both Hendley and Leather in an interview with Men’s Health back in 2021, explaining their vital role in keeping him out of trouble in their formative teenage years.
‘I used to come home every weekend and go to see all my friends – not just the close friends I have now, like Jamie [Hendley] and Ashley [Leather], but all my friends together. And some of them were up to no good,’ Rashford told Men’s Health.
‘When I talk about sacrifice, it’s also about making decisions. That’s why I’m so close to Jamie and Ashley, because if they knew someone was going off in a direction that could put us in a sticky situation, they would have me home straight away. Just like that. We would get on our bikes and I would be home.
Ashley Leather (left) is another Rashford treats like family after playing a key role earlier in life
‘They have been like that from the beginning for me.’
Rashford continued: ‘I see them as family. I don’t see my friends as friends. I treat them as brothers, and they are the same with me.
‘My circle is so small! Other than my family, it’s Jamie and Ashley and then the people who work with me football-wise. That’s it. It has always been small and always will be, because I feel like I work best in that environment. I trust them.’
Ro-Shaun Williams
Childhood friends having come through the academy at United, having previously played together at south Manchester grassroots club Fletcher Moss Rangers, Williams is like ‘family’ to Rashford.
The pair have an excellent relationship and are known to regularly unwind by playing FIFA together on PlayStation.
Only last week did Rashford make the trip over to Northern Ireland after Williams had signed for Larne FC.
Asked about his close relationship with Rashford, Williams told the Yorkshire Postearlier this year: ‘I’ve known him since I was a kid, I played local football with him before we were at United so I see him as like family, it’s the same as my mum, dad or brother coming to watch me.
‘Marcus watching me is the same as if one of my mates who works at Amazon comes to a game, I’d still want to play well because someone’s taken time out of their day to watch me.’
Ro-Shaun Williams (second from left) is a childhood friend and former Rashford team-mate
Rashford (circled, front row) and Williams (circled, back row) pictured in United’s youth team
Jamal Branker
Branker is a close friend of Jesse Lingard and grew close to Rashford over the years.
The non-league footballer, who is also friendly with Hendley, was last pictured with Lingard in December 2023.
But he was at the centre of an ill-advised video that featured both Lingard and Rashford back in 2019.
Lingard was showing off his hotel suite in Miami, which he was sharing with Branker, Rashford and Williams, but it took a turn when Branker was seen simulating sex with a pillow, which led to criticism.
Rashford called it a ‘mistake’ but did not go into further detail.
Jamal Branker is close to Jesse Lingard but has grown a close friend to Rashford over the years
Caroline McAteer
PR guru Caroline McAteer (right, pictured with John Terry) has been brought in to help Rashford with his press relations
Back in December Rashford added a key piece to his inner circle, which he has said will always remain incredibly small.
The appointment of Caroline McAteer, who also looks after Jadon Sancho, Cristiano Ronaldo and Raphael Varane, has not caused panic at United despite how the situations of Sancho and Ronaldo played out.
McAteer is highly respected in her field and is well known in the sports world since working with David and Victoria Beckham in the late 1990s.
She was responsible for managing Beckham’s PR and media after he was sent off at the 1998 World Cup.
Founder and CEO of The Sports PR Company – which specialises in offering global public relations, sponsorship management, social media and crisis management comms – she is an entrusted part of Rashford’s circle despite her recent appointment.
She is a huge asset to Rashford commercially and is also adept at crisis communications – which will be key for the United star in the wake of his boozy trip to Northern Ireland last week.
Tyrell Malacia
With the departure of Lingard, young Dutch full-back Malacia has emerged as Rashford’s closest friend at United.
Malacia, 24, has holidayed with Rashford in the past and been pictured attending his birthday parties, leading fans to delight in their ‘bromance’.
The pair hit it off in Malacia’s first season at Old Trafford and grew closer after taking a summer holiday to Los Angeles with some other friends.
Since Lingard left Old Trafford, team-mate Tyrell Malacia (left) has become his closest friend
The pair sit next to each other in the dressing room and have taken multiple holidays together
Back in July the pair, who link up down the left-hand side for United, also enjoyed an off season break on a yacht in Ibiza, having already spent time together in New York a month prior.
‘We give each other energy, we speak a lot with each other and, in the dressing room, we sit next to each other,” Malacia previously told MUTV of his friendship with Rashford.
‘We have a good connection, that’s important and you can see it on the pitch.’
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.
