Man Utd youngster Hannibal 'extremely happy' for Rashford after return to form

Marcus Rashford 'deserves everything that's happening now', says Manchester United team-mate Hannibal Mejbri.

After a tough 2021-22 campaign, Rashford started this season well and carried that form through to the World Cup with England in Qatar, where he netted three times.

The 25-year-old scored just five times in 32 Premier League games last season for United, but already has eight goals in 19 appearances in 2022-23.

Hannibal - who is spending the season on loan at Championship side Birmingham City - also appeared in the World Cup with Tunisia, who were eliminated in the group stage.

Speaking to Stats Perform, the 19-year-old praised Rashford as a player and a person, with the United striker having engaged in significant charity work in recent years.
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"I'm extremely happy because when I was at Manchester United that's when he [had] a bit of a hard time, but he never let up," Hannibal said.

"He's a really good guy and he deserves everything that's happening now and he's worked so hard for it, so I'm very happy for him."

Hannibal joined United from Monaco in 2019 for a fee of around £8m (€10m) and made two appearances for the first team last season.

The midfielder described what it was like to enter the Red Devils academy upon his arrival, in particular the difficulty of doing so with a large fee having been paid.

"It's very difficult to get into a youth dressing room with a price tag of 10 million euros," he said. "You go into the locker room, everyone judges you.

"But after one or two training sessions you show your qualities and everyone accepts you. So that's how it is and that's football now, you have to put aside what people think about you, work, stay focused."

United manager Erik ten Hag has had an impressive start to his career at Old Trafford, and despite being on loan, Hannibal has confirmed the Dutchman is monitoring his progress.

"The staff, the technical staff always stay informed with us, the players on loan," he said. “So yes, if you do something bad, he tells you, if you do something good he also congratulates you. So yes, he stays in touch and it's a great pleasure."

Sports Dec 5, 2022 0 49 Add to Reading List

Man Utd youngster Hannibal 'extremely happy' for Rashford after return to form

Marcus Rashford 'deserves everything that's happening now', says Manchester United team-mate Hannibal Mejbri.

After a tough 2021-22 campaign, Rashford started this season well and carried that form through to the World Cup with England in Qatar, where he netted three times.

The 25-year-old scored just five times in 32 Premier League games last season for United, but already has eight goals in 19 appearances in 2022-23.

Hannibal - who is spending the season on loan at Championship side Birmingham City - also appeared in the World Cup with Tunisia, who were eliminated in the group stage.

Speaking to Stats Perform, the 19-year-old praised Rashford as a player and a person, with the United striker having engaged in significant charity work in recent years.

"I'm extremely happy because when I was at Manchester United that's when he [had] a bit of a hard time, but he never let up," Hannibal said.

"He's a really good guy and he deserves everything that's happening now and he's worked so hard for it, so I'm very happy for him."

Hannibal joined United from Monaco in 2019 for a fee of around £8m (€10m) and made two appearances for the first team last season.

The midfielder described what it was like to enter the Red Devils academy upon his arrival, in particular the difficulty of doing so with a large fee having been paid.

"It's very difficult to get into a youth dressing room with a price tag of 10 million euros," he said. "You go into the locker room, everyone judges you.

"But after one or two training sessions you show your qualities and everyone accepts you. So that's how it is and that's football now, you have to put aside what people think about you, work, stay focused."

United manager Erik ten Hag has had an impressive start to his career at Old Trafford, and despite being on loan, Hannibal has confirmed the Dutchman is monitoring his progress.

"The staff, the technical staff always stay informed with us, the players on loan," he said. “So yes, if you do something bad, he tells you, if you do something good he also congratulates you. So yes, he stays in touch and it's a great pleasure."