Marcus Rashford hit back this week at a report which claimed there was a divide in the dressing room between Cristiano Ronaldo and the English players.
Rashford blasted the reports in a response on Twitter, insisting they were false.
Now Cristiano Ronaldo has seemingly fired a more low-key shot, posting a picture together with Marcus Rashford on Instagram.
The picture from Thursday’s training session is a clear hint from Ronaldo that the teammates are standing side by side together. It was not a coincidence Ronaldo chose this time to post an image with Rashford.
Ronaldo is well used to whispers. There was arguably even more intense coverage of his spell at Real Madrid with the Spanish press attempting to create division between himself and Gareth Bale from the day the Welshman arrived at the club.
After scoring against Brighton in midweek, Ronaldo wrote on Instagram: “Nobody gives up and there’s only one way to get back on track: hard work, team work, serious work. Everything else is just noise.”
He will be focused on United’s crucial next two games, in the Premier League away at Leeds, and then the Champions League clash with Atletico Madrid.
There was encouragement for Marcus Rashford’s stance yesterday with Sky Sports reporter Pete Graves urging more footballers to follow his lead and shutting down rumours they believe to be false.
There was more speculation in a report from The Mirror, which claimed there is tension between Harry Maguire and Cristiano Ronaldo over the club captaincy.
In a timely interview, midfielder Fred has moved to play down the continued stirring in the media.
Fred told Sky Sports: “Our dressing room is really good. There’s a lot of fake news and a lot of rumours surrounding it but it’s great. We work together and we all have the same goals and objectives.
“It’s not easy for the manager to keep everyone happy because everyone wants to play and we have so many good players. But we understand each other. We have developed harmony in the dressing room and I think that’s the most important thing we have.
“We have maximum respect for each other in the dressing room.”