Marcus Rashford has sent a supportive message to his ‘brother’ Anthony Martial after he joined Sevilla on loan for the rest of the season.
It was confirmed on Tuesday that Martial, 26, had left Manchester United to complete a loan move to Sevilla and would spend the remainder of the 2021-22 season in Spain.
The Frenchman, who joined the Red devils in 2015, completed his medical in Andalusia after his club and La Liga side Sevilla agreed terms for his loan deal.
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Martial has played 269 matches for United, scoring 79 goals, and helped the club win the FA Cup, EFL Cup and Europa League, although his lack of development has been a source of frustration at Old Trafford.
He played for United as recently as Saturday after coming off the bench to help Ralf Rangnick’s side secure a 1-0 victory over West Ham thanks to Marcus Rashford’s injury-time winner.
Rashford was one of the first United players to react to Martial’s exit, writing on social media: ‘Good luck my brother,’ with a heart emoji.
Manchester United, meanwhile, said in a statement: ‘Martial, who will wear Sevilla’s No. 22 shirt, will become the second United player to appear in Spain’s top flight this season, following Facundo Pellistri.
‘Everyone at United wishes Anthony the best of luck for his time at Sevilla.’
Ahead of Martial’s move to Sevilla, Former Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand discussed his career at Old Trafford and why a move was beneficial for all parties.
‘I think Anthony Martial needs this, he needs to play first team football, he needs to be a regular, he needs to start playing on a regular basis now on a consistent level,’ Ferdinand said on his YouTube channel.
‘For the last year or so, or longer even, he hasn’t been a regular and he probably needed this move.
‘Listen, getting the Ballon d’Or as a bonus in the contract – if he wins the Ballon d’Or, X amount of money gets paid – it puts a bit of extra pressure on someone, but when he came he hit the ground running.
‘The goal he scored against Liverpool you think, “Wow! This kid is going to be world-class!”
‘He’s shown glimpses throughout his career at Man United where you think, “Wow, this kid could be ultra-special” but then there’s been times where he’s been underwhelming and you thought, “This isn’t good enough”.
‘So hopefully he improves [on loan] and it frees up a bit of space for Man United to go and get someone else.’
Martial joins a Sevilla side who are second in the La Liga table, four points behind leaders Real Madrid.
