Rooney Challenges Rashford to Chase Down Manchester United Goals Record
Wayne Rooney believes only one player can take his Manchester United goals record – and he’s already inside the building.
Marcus Rashford.
Rooney, whose 253 goals make him United’s all-time leading scorer, says the 28-year-old has the talent to chase him down, but warned that desire, not ability, will decide whether it happens.
Speaking on his new podcast Stick to United, Rooney laid out the challenge for Rashford as the forward prepares for what feels like a second chance at Old Trafford after a turbulent spell away.
Rooney’s challenge to Rashford
"It’s just such a strange one with Marcus because I think we know he’s got the ability. I think he’s shown that," Rooney said.
"For me, has he got the hunger, does he want to play for Manchester United?"
Rashford’s future looked elsewhere not long ago. After falling out of favour under former boss Ruben Amorim, he last played for United in December 2024 before heading out on loan to Aston Villa and then Barcelona. Barca chose not to make the move permanent, and Rashford has since been involved in Michael Carrick’s pre-season plans as United weigh up his role.
The forward, who once had designs on a longer life away from Old Trafford with that Villa loan in 2025, now faces a reset. Rooney knows that feeling. He referenced his own 2010 transfer saga as a warning and a roadmap.
"I’ve been there in 2010 when I asked to leave the football club – he has to build a relationship with the fans," Rooney said.
"And the easiest way to do that is to work hard and body language. I think Marcus’ body language isn’t great, and so it might be something he has to work on. He might have to work with someone to make his body language look better."
Body language, work rate, and the record in sight
Rashford sits 15th on United’s all-time scoring list with 138 goals. The gap to Rooney is large, but not impossible for a player of his age and pedigree if he stays, stays fit, and starts scoring again with regularity.
Rooney’s message, though, was clear: the numbers will only come if the attitude does.
"I think his work rate has to improve, but if he wants to be at the football club, he just needs to knuckle down," he said. "You do it, and he’s a young lad. He’s from Manchester. He’s the one player who can go and get my goalscoring record."
Rooney doesn’t want to see Rashford rebuilding his reputation in someone else’s colours.
"I don’t want to see Marcus Rashford doing well at Aston Villa or doing well at Barcelona," he added. "I want to see him doing well at Manchester United and scoring goals for Manchester United."
The route back, in Rooney’s eyes, is brutally simple.
"That means he has to just get his head down, work his socks off, and then be more positive."
A career at a crossroads
Rashford’s loans at Villa Park and the Nou Camp showed he can still attract major clubs, but also underlined how far he had drifted from being United’s attacking reference point. Now, with Carrick reshaping the squad and Rashford back in the fold, the question is whether he can turn this into a genuine revival rather than a brief return.
Rooney believes the answer lies not only on the pitch but in the people around the forward.
"If he’s back playing for Manchester United, I think he has to have a real close look at who’s round him," Rooney said.
"Only he can say who the people are around him who he really trusts. Because there’s not many people you trust really. It’d be a small amount of people, keep them close to him, go into training, work hard, get himself right. If he does that, he’ll be fine."
The record is there. The stage is there. The question, as Rooney keeps asking, is whether Rashford truly wants it enough to chase him down in a United shirt.
