Marcus Rashford has once again proven that he’s not just a national hero who feeds hungry kids, but also an all-round great guy. The footballer was yesterday presented with an MBE for his campaign against child poverty, and said afterwards that he would be giving his medal to his mum, Melanie Maynard.
The 24-year-old player has paid tribute to Melanie on countless occasions, speaking about how she brought him and his four siblings up as a single mother while working three jobs.
Here, we look at the nicest things Marcus has said about his mum…
‘She is an unbelievably strong woman’
Speaking about his mother in his 2020 book You Are a Champion: How to Be the Best You Can Be, Marcus praised her strength and optimism in the face of adversity.
He said: ‘She is an unbelievably strong woman. Sometimes I cannot put into words how much I love her (but I’ll try my best here). My mum has been through some of the worst things that you could imagine, but she has never let anything that ’s happened take away her smile.
‘When I was growing up, she worked three jobs and ran a house with my siblings and myself running about the place, and she still found time to give us so much love and good advice. She always tries to see the bright side of things, which is something I’m so lucky to have learned from her.
‘In football interviews I often get asked, “Who is the toughest person you know?” and I think people always expect me to say another footballer. But my answer every single time is MY MUM.’
‘I’m a product of her love’
Last year, Marcus wrote an open letter to MPs asking them to reconsider their decision to cancel the food voucher scheme over the summer holidays. The following day, the government performed a U-turn, with the Prime Minister calling the footballer directly to talk about the decision.
In his letter, Marcus spoke of his mother’s love for him, and how it made him who he is today: ‘The man you see before you is a product of her love and care. I have friends who are from middle-class backgrounds who have never experienced a small percentage of the love I have gotten from my mum: a single parent who would sacrifice everything she had for our happiness.’
‘My mum’s always right’
Marcus’s mum is the person he goes to for a pep talk before a football match, and hers is the advice he values most.
Writing in his book, he said: ‘She’s not a big football person, but every night before a match she’ll always call to give me a little pep talk. It’s the same piece of advice every time – go out and enjoy it and if you play well you’ll win the game – but she’s right. My mum is always right.
‘She’s one of the best people I can speak to before I play, because she knows exactly what I need to hear in order to be ready. She always knows the right words to say. There’s a lot of my mum in me (and I don’t just mean we look alike!). She has passed on so many traits that are really important to the way I live life. She never gives up, so neither will I.’
‘Her happiness means the world to me’
Speaking at the Sports Journalists’ Association British Sports Awards last year, Marcus opened up about what it means to him that his mum has been able to access a better life since he became a footballer.
‘She lived the struggle and that’s why it means the world to me that she’s happy now,’ he said. ‘She’s right next to me with everything that I do. She believes just as strongly as I do that things do need to change. And, whenever there were any setbacks, she was the first person to ring me and just to tell me, “Don’t worry, just keep going”.’
‘Your sacrifices made me appreciate life’
In December last year, Melanie appeared in her son’s BBC documentary, Marcus Rashford: Feeding Britain's Children. The pair also appeared on BBC Breakfast, with Marcus’s mum speaking openly about her struggle to put food on the table when her children were growing up.
During the interview, Marcus acknowledged his mother’s sacrifices, telling her: ‘All the little struggles and the sacrifices that you made, it helps you appreciate everything like 10 times more, so I don't see it as a weakness.
‘I think in sport you have to have something behind you that is pushing you. When you come from a place of struggle and pain, a lot of the time it switches and it becomes your drive and motivation.’
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