Marcus Rashford as opened up on his own experiences growing up and revealed how Manchester United took him into their academy a year earlier than normal because his mum struggled to put food on the table.
Speaking on BBC Breakfast, the England star said United made an exception to their rules to allow him into their academy programmes aged 11 rather than 12 after his mum Melanie explained their tough home situation.
He said: ‘'My mum was a single parent, she had five kids all living in the same house. The programme that I started at 11 years old, you're supposed to start it at 12 years old.
‘'It basically gives you accommodation closer to the training facilities and a new school and she worked that hard to push it forward because she knew that was a step I needed to take.
‘'I needed to be eating the right food as I was growing, I needed to be close to my team-mates, my new school and my new school friends. She made that decision when I was 11 years old and United allowed it.
‘'That was the reason I ended up going at a younger age to the others, it was to help my mum with her situation and also get me out of the situation were were in.
‘'So there is always a big element of sacrifice to get to the top level and that's the one we had to make.'’
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The 22-year-old Rashford described how his mum would have to plan her kids' meals for the week while working to a tight food budget during his upbringing in Wythenshawe, Manchester.
This article was most recently revised and updated 4 years ago
