Erik ten Hag made star sign ‘contract termination clause’ after he was late like Rashford

On Dec 31, 2022

Marcus Rashford daren’t be late for Manchester United again as Erik ten Hag nearly had a player sacked for the issue.

Rashford was dropped to the bench as United travelled to Molineux to face Wolves. Ten Hag said it was because of an “internal disciplinary” issue, which the forward revealed was turning up late to a team meeting after scoring the winner in the 1-0 victory.

While it may seem like a minor issue, United’s manager sees it as a big no-no – as exclusively revealed to Daily Star Sport earlier this year by Esbjerg fB defender Kevin Conboy, who played under him at FC Utrecht.

Conboy said: “He would do anything to protect the team. I’m not going to mention the name, but we had a player who lived 30 or 40 minutes away from the training ground.

“He was late one day, and Erik said, ‘this is never going to happen again’. Then he came in late one morning one more time, maybe five minutes.

“Maybe in Dutch terms, compared to the Premier League, this is nothing. But he received a €1,000 fine, or thereabouts.

Is Ten Hag right to lay down the law so harshly? Let us know in the comments section.

Ten Hag previously punished a player for their poor time-keeping at FC Utrecht
(Image: VI Images via Getty Images)

“The third time, he had to go to the director’s office and sign a contract that said if he was ever late again, ‘you can just terminate my contract.’ He gives a lot, but he demands a lot. You don’t step outside.”

Rashford, who netted the only goal of the game after coming off the bench against Wolves, held his hands up in his post-match interview and took his punishment with good grace.

Kevin Conboy revealed being late is big no-no for the United manager
(Image: Daily Star)

“I was little bit late for a meeting, I overslept,” he told BT Sport. “It’s the team rules and it’s a mistake that can happen.

“I’m obviously disappointed not to play, but I understand the decision and I’m happy we managed to win the game anyway. I think we can draw a line under it and move on.”