Marcus Rashford has quickly quashed rumours that he and his agent were eyeing up a new ‘£500k-a-week’ contract at Manchester United following a story by the Daily Star.
The Manchester Unitedstar, who is currently enjoying the best season of his career so far, was reported by sports writer Jeremy Cross to have been looking for a £500k-a-week as he approaches the final 12 months of his current contract and the club are keen to tie him down on a new long-term deal.
While negotiations are believed to have begun, there wasn’t just little evidence to support these claims: there was none — with the outlet simply suggesting that he wanted to be the highest-earner in the Premier League above the likes of Kevin de Bruyne, Erling Haaland and teammate David de Gea.
All three referenced are said to be on weekly wages of between £375,000-£400,000, and Cross also referenced Cristiano Ronaldo’s massive wages after his return to the club, but as the in-form number 10 qualified shortly after on Twitter, his claims were all “complete nonsense”.
Just before this one starts to do the rounds! It's complete nonsense. The club and make self have been respectful to one another, and that's how it will remain. My focus is purely on finishing as well as possible in the league and winning trophies.
As you can see, the 25-year-old wasted no time in putting the paper talk to bed, insisting that he and the club “have been respectful to one another”.
ADVERTISEMENT
Rashford was reported to be on upwards of £200k a week in his current contract signed back in 2019 and set to expire in June 2023, but he was one of four players who had extensions triggered by manager Erik ten Hag shortly after he arrived at Old Trafford, alongside Diogo Dalot, Fred and Luke Shaw.
Following United news aggregator UtdPlug sharing the false report, the tweet was soon taken down, with the social media account apologising to Rashford directly and assuring, “it won’t happen again”.
ADVERTISEMENT
Thankfully, the Wythenshawe-born winger was as understanding as you’d expect, replying: “No problem at all!… I know you are not to blame”.
No problem at all! I was a little annoyed when I saw it, hence the reason for the typo* but I know you are not to blame. 🔴
The England star missed out on the Euro 2024 qualifying matches after withdrawing through injury and was also subject to criticism by some sections of the media for visiting New York shortly after the announcement.
However, Gareth Southgate quickly snuffed out that narrative too, insisting that “once he’s ruled out of the squad, it’s entirely up to him how he spends his time. The players don’t get a lot of breaks… If they get 48 hours with the schedule as it is, I think they have to take advantage of it.”
ADVERTISEMENT
On the other hand, many Reds have quipped that Rashford and United have simply echoed the days of Sir Alex Ferguson by recalling key players during the international break to avoid any risk of injury and get some added rest.
Either way, he is now back in training and, as he said in his tweet, simply focused on “the league and winning trophies.”
Manchester City opens brand-new store at the Trafford Centre
Daisy Jackson
Manchester City has opened the doors to its new Trafford Centre store just in time for the Black Friday shopping frenzy.
The club has launched the brand-new store in collaboration with retail partner Stichd.
The Manchester City store offers fans a bespoke City shopping experience, including this season’s PUMA kits, the Christmas collection (with a £5 donation to City in the Community (CITC) with specific products), and shirt printing.
Shoppers will be able to browse a range of sky blue shirts, hats, scarves, and gloves, as well as soft toys, mugs, and other collectibles.
There’s already a City store in the Manchester Arndale, which opened a couple of years ago, but its arrival at the Trafford Centre is a new development.
Other existing stores include sites in Abu Dhabi, Dubai, New York City, Seoul and Shenzhen.
Serena Gosling, Director of Retail and Licensing at Manchester City, said: “We’re proud to reveal our latest City Store in the iconic Trafford Centre, Manchester – our third location within the city.
“It provides another touchpoint for fans to interact with the club – at a venue that is a shopping favourite within the North West.
“We know the Trafford Centre attracts huge numbers of local shoppers, and tourists, so we are sure our newest store will provide a convenient location for fans, and of course, at this festive time of year, for those buying presents.
Manchester City opens brand-new store at the Trafford Centre. Credit: The Manc Group
“We look forward to welcoming everyone to the store.”
Will Rodnight, Head of Physical Retail, stichd, said: “We are thrilled to strengthen our partnership with Manchester City through the opening of this third City store in Manchester at the Trafford Centre.
“Our goal is to create an exceptional retail experience that reflects the passion of City fans. This new location adds another fantastic opportunity to connect with supporters in one of the UK’s most iconic shopping destinations, and we can’t wait to welcome them.”
Kate Pearson, Portfolio Leasing Director at Pradera Lateral – Trafford Centre’s Asset Managers, added: “We look forward to welcoming the new City Store to Trafford Centre. This bespoke new retail offering complements our current sportswear retailers whilst also adding a personalised experience for their supporters. We are excited to see their success once the doors open.”
Oasis and adidas drop yet more new merch in the Live ’25 collection
Danny Jones
The Oasis and adidas love affair isn’t over just yet; it isn’t going anywhere, as the legendary Manc band group and global sports apparel franchise are releasing another batch of merch as part of the smash-hit Live ’25 collection.
After shirts, shoes, jackets and bucket hats galore sold out all over the world, adidas is now toasting not only the end of the reunion world tour but “the year that was Oasis” with a second drop in the already iconic crossover.
If you passed through Manchester at all during their Heaton Park homecoming run, you will have no doubt seen countless examples of the ‘adidas Originals x Oasis’ football shirt collaboration alone, not to mention several other bits of fashion in the official Live ’25 fashion line.
Now, just in time for Christmas, there’s a whole new set being introduced into the range of casual wear.
Simply titled ‘Oasis Live ‘25 Drop 2’, the latest additions to the adidas Originals collection are releasing next month and, obviously, will be sold in stores and online.
While the pop-up stores that opened up here in the city centre all over have now shut up shop, Greater Manchester’s adidas locations on Market Street – which turned into an Oasis fan paradise this past summer – and Pear Mill in Stockport will still be stocking the various bits of Britpop clobber.
Although the most recent items will be exclusively available domestically for now, they will be rolled out overseas in 2026.
Considering how quickly most of it sold out last time, you can guarantee most of the options to fly off the shelves just as fast here in the UK.
Honestly, we’ve only just managed to get our hands on the standard black ‘jacquard jersey’.
As you can see, a good chunk of the second drop is that same footy shirt in different colours and other tees in different lengths/variations.
Scheduled to launch on Friday, 12 December, the ‘Oasis x adidas Originals Live ‘25 Drop 2’ will go on sale at 9am sharpish, so you’d best get ready for a scrap in that digital queue.
Naturally, fans, fashionistas and collectors can expect virtually identical costs for the majority of pieces (and buying in-person will obviously help keep the cost down), though it does look like some price points have been adjusted.
As for the Live ’25 tour itself, now that the dust has settled on the ‘Oasis Mania‘ take two, Liam himself has taken to social media to express his gratitude in the most Gallagher way possible…
Danny Jones -
30th March 2023 
