In public, Manchester United head coach Ruben Amorim tried to counter the view that he wanted to jettison Rashford.
But United insiders believe the former Sporting boss felt it would be better for everyone if the forward was no longer around.
Even towards the back end of last week, there was still hopeful talk of a resolution on Rashford’s part. Now the reality is sinking in. Amorim has got his way.
What has been very difficult to pinpoint, even though Amorim has given some frank interviews, is the detailed reasoning why the coach was so willing to let him leave.
It was all sparked when Amorim dropped Rashford for the Manchester derby on 15 December.
Three days earlier, the forward had been substituted 11 minutes into the second half of what looked like being an embarrassing Europa League defeat by Czech side Viktoria Plzen.
Rasmus Hojlund came on to replace him and scored two goals to turn the match into a 2-1 win.
Rashford his been omitted from 11 of 12 squads since.
The one time he did make a squad – the 2-0 home Premier League defeat by Newcastle on 30 December – he was left on the bench. Afterwards, Amorim was asked why.
When he had to address the subject again before Thursday’s Europa League win over Romanian side FCSB, Amorim seemed as if he was starting to get irritated.
There is no doubt he has used the Rashford situation as a test of his strength. Sir Alex Ferguson, an illustrious predecessor, may well have approved.
“If the coach has no control, he will not last,” Ferguson explained in a case study for Harvard Business School, published in the weeks after his retirement in 2013.
“You have to achieve a position of comprehensive control. Players must recognise that as the manager, you have the status to control events. Before I came to United, I told myself I wasn’t going to allow anyone to be stronger than I was. Your personality has to be bigger than theirs.”
Amorim’s latest comments on the Rashford saga were not as polished but the sentiment was the same.
“You [the media] want to make it personal,” said Amorim. “I have nothing against Marcus but I have to make the same rules for everybody.”
It was more or less the same message Amorim delivered at the Etihad Stadium in dropping Rashford and forward Alejandro Garnacho for the Manchester derby win over City.
In various forms, it has been repeated at least half a dozen times in the interim.
“It’s important, the performance in training, the performance in the games, the way you dress, the way you eat, the way you engage with your team-mates, the way you push your team-mates, everything is important in the context of beginning something, when we want to change a lot of things,” Amorim outlined.
“It’s the small details. When people in our club are losing their jobs, we have to put the standards really high.”
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