Jamie Carragher says Marcus Rashford 'was never the saint he was made out to be'

Jamie Carragher believes Marcus Rashford was never 'the saint he was made out' to be in the wake of his '12-hour tequila bender' in Belfast last week and that he's not the player capable of leading Manchester United back to the top of English football.

The England international called in sick on Friday and was subsequently fined two weeks wages when details of his boozy antics emerged.

Rashford was 'clearly on a mission to get drunk', according to accounts of his night out in the Northern Irish city, and collapsed into bed fully-clothed at 3am.

While the United forward has since accepted responsibility for missing training last week, Carragher suggested his fall from grace was not entirely surprising.

'I don’t ever believe he was this saint that he was made out to be, and this inner circle, I think they have done a great job with Marcus – there was a lot of PR around him,' he said speaking on the Stick to Football podcast, brought to you by Sky Bet.

'It put him as if he was this guy that was almost going to save the world, when he’s just a young lad from Manchester, with a few quid and is a brilliant footballer.'

His decision to skip training is alleged to have angered his team-mates with one source saying: 'They couldn't believe that he would do that given the situation the club is in.' 

United boss Erik ten Hag declared over the weekend he 'would deal' with the issue and seemed determined to draw a line under the matter with his side playing at Wolves on Thursday night.

Asked on Wednesday if Rashford's behaviour showed a lack of respect towards his manager, Ten Hag said: 'Nothing to do with that with me but in football, you need discipline and that is on the pitch but also off the pitch. 

It is the second time this season he