Marcus Rashford’s new celebration is gradually taking over the world of sport as more and more athletes are pulling out his new trademark gesture.
The Manchester United man is absolutely on fire at the moment, enjoying the best run of form we’ve seen in his career thus far and, more importantly, looking happier and more confident than ever.
To go along with that, the 25-year-old recently pulled out a new celebration earlier this year, where he simply stops and points to his temple after scoring, which he has done 18 times already this season.
However, the celebration hasn’t stopped with Rashford: the likes of Tammy Abraham, Joshua Kimmich and more have pulled out ‘The Point’.
It might not be the most original celebration we’ve ever seen — plenty of people have pointed to their heads after scoring a goal etc. — but Man United’s number 10 has clearly given a whole new lease of life to it, and perhaps an added layer of meaning.
Fellow England star Bukayo Saka even pulled out Rashford’s celebration with his equaliser when his international teammate opened the scoring against Arsenal.
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Either the biggest mark of respect or absolutely cold as ice.
Bukayo Saka scores against Man United and does Marcus Rashford’s celebration 🫡 pic.twitter.com/37XPMRz5rM
As if that wasn’t cool enough — your fellow footballing colleagues helping your signature move go even more viral — the simple but effective statement point to the temple has transcended football and is now being whipped by sportsmen and women across various disciplines.
Starting with the likes of England and Sussex cricketer, Jofra Archer (a big United fan), the point is now being copied by some seriously notable athletes across the world.
And so does Novak Djokovic, it turns out, as the Serbian tennis star and record-equalling Grand Slam winner also pulled out the point over the weekend.
Winning a seriously impressive 10th Australian Open title, his 22nd major trophy, arguably the greatest ever to hold a racket chose recreated Rashford’s celebration to make the occasion.
As many have noted, if we start to see the likes of NBA and NFL players dedicating their celebrations to the Wythenshawe lad then he really has gone full superstar.
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That being said, many are still curious at what exactly the celebration means and, as far as we can tell, it’s simply about focus.
Man United’s no. 10 regularly suffered with the noise and pressure of leading the line for his boyhood club in the past couple of seasons, but it now looks like he’s managed to put that behind him and get back in the zone, for lack of a better phrase.
Often closing his eyes while raising his finger to his temple, the celebration is clearly about shutting out all that excess noise and external distractions; staying locked in and allowing himself to get back to what he does best: being really good at football.
Featured Image — The Cricketer/Marcus Rashford/Eurosport (via Twitter)
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Pep Guardiola delivers gutting news as Man City are hit with Erling Haaland injury blow
Danny Jones
Pep Guardiola has passed on some gutting fitness news for Manchester City fans as star striker Erling Haaland is confirmed to be injured for several weeks and could even miss the rest of the Premier League season.
The title might be out of reach this year, and the Champions League knockout against Real Madrid was definitely hard for Blues to take, but with Man City into the semi-finals of the FA Cup, there’s still a very strong chance they could end 2024/25 with a piece of silverware.
However, they’ll have to make it through another two massive rounds at Wembley and seemingly the remainder of the season without Haaland and his goals, as the Catalan coach revealed that the club expects him to be out injured for “six to seven weeks.”
Not exactly how City fans would have wanted to see the rest of an already frustrating season play out.
🗣️ "We don't have another player with his skills."
Relaying diagnosis from the medical team, Pep said the hope is that the big Norwegian number nine could be back for the very tail end of the campaign, but at the very least, he “will be ready for the [FIFA Club] World Cup.”
He went on to add that “these kinds of things happen” and that he feels “sorry” for all of the other injuries that have befell his squad up till now, adding that they can only hope for a speedy recovery and for him to return as soon as possible.
The 24-year-old hasn’t had too many big injury problems in his career thus far, although his longest spell on the sidelines did come at the end of 2023 when a stress fracture kept him out until the new year.
This time around, Haaland suffered an injury to his ankle during the City’s FA Cup win over Bournemouth on Sunday following a challenge from defensive midfielder Lewis Cook.
He was forced in the second half and was seen leaving the Vitality Stadium on crutches after the game.
Erling Haaland seen leaving Bournemouth in a protective boot and crutches. 🤕
Having led the golden boot race for a good chunk of the season – as he’s become accustomed too since he arrived in England – City‘s sub-optimal season has seen him slink into second behind high-flying Mo Salah on 27, but he still has a couple dozen goals and a trio of assists to show for it.
Speaking of Salah, the soon-to-leave ‘Egyptian King’ has been the talisman for Liverpool this season, and his contributions could see them lift the trophy in Arne Slot’s first season as early as 13 April, depending on how fellow title rivals Arsenal fare in their next two matches.
As for how City round out their domestic campaign, reclaiming the FA Cup after last year’s derby disappointment looks like the main goal.
You can watch Pep Guardiola’s press conference ahead of the game against Leicester City at 19:45pm tomorrow (Wednesday, 2 April) in full HERE.
Masters Football isn’t just back – it’s coming to Manchester
Danny Jones
The much-loved Masters Football format made its glorious comeback in 2022, and since then, it’s been steadily rebuilding an audience of passionate fans, plenty of whom you’ll find here in the sporting city of Manchester – so it’s a good job the national tournament is heading our way.
That’s right, the official English Masters Football competition is coming to 0161 later this year and will be bringing a host of legendary North West talent from years gone by to take part.
Although the full squads and their team captains have yet to be announced, former professionals from Manchester United, Man City, Liverpool, Everton, and more will be lacing back up their boots.
Manchester Masters Football 2025 lands at the equally iconic AO Arena this September.
Credit: Publicity Pictures (supplied)
For anyone unfamiliar with Masters Football, which developed a die-hard following when it first ran between 2000 and 2011, is shorter, indoor-only six-a-side footy tournament similar to futsal.
Each team will feature eight retired players, and the games unfold in a round-robin format, with each match consisting of two eight-minute halves, meaning that both sides have a little over a quarter of an hour to score enough to make it past the other.
In addition to the quicker matches, they will battle it out on a 60m x 30m pitch – the same size of an international ice hockey rink – and whoever makes it through with the highest points will battle it out in a grand final to claim the Manchester Masters title.
As you can see, players set to star this year include ex-United and City defenders Wes Brown and Joleon Lescott, as well as Liverpool and Everton strikers Djibril Cisse and Yakubu Ayegbeni.
You can see some of the best moments from the year it officially returned to the UK down below:
The Manchester edition of the 2025 English Masters Football Tournament Series arrives at the AO Arena on Friday, 5 September.
Doors will open to the venue from 6pm, with the first match kicking off at 7pm, so you better have drinks and snacks in time for bums to hit seats.
As for tickets, there’ll be two chances at early access, first for Three+ mobile members at 10am on Wednesday, 2 April and then via the venue’s presale window at the same time the following day. General admission tickets will be made available, also from 10am, the following Saturday, 5 April.