Wayne Rooney outlines what Marcus Rashford must do to beat his Man United goalscoring record

Wayne Rooney believes Marcus Rashford remains the only footballer capable of breaking his all-time goalscoring record for Manchester United, if the forward demonstrates the right desire. The England international appears set for a second act at Old Trafford this term after Barcelona opted against turning last season's loan into a permanent deal, with the attacker featuring in Michael Carrick’s pre-season preparations. Having previously looked for a future away from the club - including a temporary move to Aston Villa in 2025 - the 28-year-old has been told by Rooney that significant work lies ahead to make a success of his return. "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, who netted a record 253 goals for the Red Devils, said on his new podcast Stick to United. Wayne Rooney feels Rashford can break his record if he knuckles down (Mike Egerton/PA) (PA Wire) "For me, has he got the hunger, does he want to play for Manchester United? 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. "And 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. "I think his work rate has to improve, but if he wants to be at the football club, he just needs to knuckle down. 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, who is currently 15th in United’s historical goalscoring chart with 138 strikes, last turned out for the club in December 2024 after falling out of favour under then-boss Ruben Amorim, prior to spending time on loan at Villa Park and the Nou Camp. "I don’t want to see Marcus Rashford doing well at Aston Villa or doing well at Barcelona," Rooney added. "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. "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. "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."