Marcus Rashford has publicly thanked Jamie Carragher for standing up for him after Gary Neville repeatedly raised his name during a recent podcast recording. The Manchester United forward, who has returned after a successful loan spell at Barcelona, made clear his frustration at the constant media focus on his future ahead of the new Premier League season.

Rashford responds to The Overlap discussion

Marcus Rashford took to social media to side with Jamie Carragher after the former Liverpool defender clashed with Gary Neville in an upcoming episode of the Stick to Football podcast.

According to the Mirror, Neville tried to spark a discussion about the Manchester United attacker by asking: "Marcus Rashford, what do we think? Last question." Carragher immediately shut the topic down, replying: "Oh ***********. Can we do a podcast without mentioning Rashford? Stop it! Oh my god. It’s like the Trent and Rashford - there was like a little part of the podcast - the Trent part or the Rashford part."

A frustrated appeal to just play football

Neville then attempted to steer the conversation in another direction, asking: "How is Trent?" before adding, "No, but he’s come back to United." Carragher was still clearly irritated and said: "So what? Oh my God. He’s just a good player for Man United!" After the clip was posted on X, Rashford reposted the footage and made his own feelings plain about the nonstop attention on his career. He wrote: "Thanks, Jamie. It would be great to be able to get my head down and play football without my name being mentioned every day."

Barcelona loan spell and Manchester United comeback

Talk around Rashford had grown louder after he spent last season on loan at Barcelona, where he registered 14 goals and 14 assists in 49 appearances and helped the club win La Liga. The Spanish champions held an option to sign him permanently for £26 million, but instead decided to bring in Anthony Gordon.

Now back in England, Michael Carrick has welcomed him into the squad. Carrick said: "He's our player, you know, and he's come back great. He's just like any other player. I've known Marcus a long time and, you know, he gives us something a little bit different."

What next for Rashford?

Manchester United begin their domestic season against Hull City on Saturday, August 22. With the transfer window shutting on September 1, Rashford now appears set to stay at Old Trafford for the coming campaign. His focus will be on settling back into the side, trying to reproduce the strong form he showed in Spain and earn a regular starting place under Carrick.