England manager Gareth Southgate has revealed what he told Marcus Rashford after phoning him to inform him he would not be going to the 2024 UEFA European Championship.
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The Manchester United winger's name was absent from Southgate's 33-man provisional Euro squad on Monday after a difficult club campaign.
Rashford, 26, has scored just eight goals in 42 appearances this season for United, and has paid the price in being left out of a major international tournament for the first time in his career.
The forward has been capped on 60 occasions for the Three Lions, but will need to wait until later this year to get back into the squad.
Southgate, speaking about his decision to leave Rashford out along with former Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson, revealed that he encouraged the player to prove him wrong in United's FA Cup final against Manchester City on Saturday.
"He will be hugely disappointed. He wants to play for England, he loves playing for England and the opportunity to play in tournaments is why you play international football," he said, according to the Mirror.
"But again he was really respectful. I said to him: 'You've got to go and score a couple of goals at the weekend now and put things right.'
"You are conscious for Marcus and Hendo, really, of the impact because they are two people who, externally, they have people jump on them very quickly. And I think they know I am there to support them.
"Even though this has been a difficult conversation, both were really professional, really respectful. But of course I am aware that that creates a bit more drama in their lives which I don't want them to experience but is a reality of the decision I've made."
Rashford netted three times for England at the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, form that kick-started an excellent goalscoring run for United in the second half of the 2022/23 season.
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The No. 10 finished the previous campaign with a career-best total of 30 goals across all competitions, but has battled to live up to those expectations this time out.
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