Gary Neville says he couldn't let Jamie Carragher get away with his "not good enough" comments about Manchester United striker Marcus Rashford during the latest episode of The Overlap.
United have struggled massively of late but from an individual point of view, it has been a disappointing campaign for Rashford.
After scoring 23 goals in all competitions last season, the 24-year-old striker struggled for form when he returned from injury and in total, he netted just five times during the 2021/22 campaign.
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Rashford has come under criticism for his performances in a red shirt this season and while appearing on The Overlap this week, former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher made some bold comments about the England international.
"He’s just not quite good enough for Manchester United, Marcus Rashford. That’s all it is," Carragher said. "That’s it, he’s not quite good enough for Manchester United. He’s Tottenham or Arsenal [level].
Former Manchester United defender Gary Neville, who was sat next to Carragher during filming, hit back at the claims saying: "He’s proven he’s good enough."
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Carragher replied: "He’s not going to win you the league or the Champions League. You’d need the two up front with him to be megastars and he’d be the addition."
The show was about to move on to its next segment but Neville "couldn't let Carragher get away" with that comment.
"That’s like saying Divock Origi is not good enough for Liverpool, or Xherdan Shaqiri isn’t good enough for Liverpool," Neville suggested.
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Carragher eventually ended the debate by admitting Rashford could make an impact at Old Trafford as a squad player.
"OK he’d be a squad player. He’s not good enough to be in the first XI to win Manchester United the big trophies, he’s just a level below that."
You can watch the Rashford debate in full below:
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In what was another great episode of ‘Gary Neville’s The Overlap, former Liverpool defender Carragher also said Erik ten Hag should get rid of Cristiano Ronaldo in the summer to make a statement.
He began: "Klopp comes into Liverpool straight away, they’d bought players under Brendan Rodgers that summer.
"I think (Christian) Benteke cost them about £35/40million it was a few quid, he was a big signing, centre forward, and he was like 'You’re not for me, out!'
"And making that big bold decision straight away, it makes everyone sit up and think 'Oh this fella takes this job seriously!'
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"I’m convinced Ten Hag has got to do that with Ronaldo, whether he’s allowed to or not, and I’ve said this consistently throughout this season, that was not a good signing.
"Cristiano Ronaldo is one of the greatest players of all time, and I’m seen as criticising him – Ronaldo is a million times better than I could ever be, I couldn’t lace his boots, obviously, but I’m not saying that to be disrespectful to him, he’s amazing.
"But Ronaldo has never played in a team this bad, he’s played in some of the best teams and has the attitude of wanting to be the main man, trying to get the goals, driving people on, and when you’re in a great team, that’s something I’m seeing as a positive.
"When you’re not playing in a great team it can be something that is seen as a negative, and I think it has been a negative this season."
Carragher continued: "Manchester United can’t go into next season with a centre forward who is going to be 38, even if he does score goals that’s not right for Man United.
"United need to buy a striker, but who do you buy? Do you buy one who’s going to play, or one who’s going to sit on the bench? What do you do? If you buy a really good one then he has to play, and Ronaldo has to go on the bench.
"Ronaldo would be a massive problem for Manchester United next season if he wasn’t playing every week, we’ve seen it this season, even when he’s coming off and there were times where the manager was right to take him off or put him on the bench, but he’s kicked up a fuss.
"This is the most powerful he will ever be, the manager’s the most powerful the first day in the job, because he’s there and he should be able to make big decisions on the basis of that and I’d make that big decision as the other top managers have done that make everyone sit up and take notice."
The Overlap is a YouTube channel from Gary Neville in partnership with Sky Bet.
Topics: Marcus Rashford, Jamie Carragher, Gary Neville, Premier League
Jack Kenmare