Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s stance on Ruben Amorim’s Marcus Rashford decision revealed

Manchester United officials will not involve themselves in Ruben Amorim’s decision to drop Marcus Rashford from his matchday squads, a report has revealed.

Rashford was first dropped for the Manchester derby, after which he confessed his desire for a “new challenge”. He has since been left out of a further two matchday squads, with Amorim openly admitting his absence is a technical decision and not a disciplinary matter.

According to the Daily Mail, those in charge at United are happy to let Amorim make such decisions on the squad and will put the head coach under no pressure while the stand-off continues.

Co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe, director Sir Dave Brailsford, chief executive Omar Berrada and technical director Jason Wilcox will neither encourage Amorim to end Rashford’s exile, nor demand he is reinstated to the squad.

While there is an acknowledgement that Rashford’s presence on the bench is far from ideal – not least because of his wages which are in excess of £300,000 per week – the United hierarchy will put their trust in Amorim to manage all issues with selection.

Amorim, for his part, has never permanently closed the door to Rashford. Indeed, he has stressed a desire to keep the forward at Old Trafford and has repeatedly insisted players are given a fresh slate after each matchday.

Alejandro Garnacho, who was also dropped for the Manchester derby, has since been used off the bench in United’s last two games, indicating that there is a way back for players accused of letting their standards drop behind the scenes.