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The England forward is keeping his feet on the ground despite his head coach suggesting he could scale the heights of the Portuguese star
Marcus Rashford has responded to comments made by Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer comparing him to Juventus superstar Cristiano Ronaldo.
The Norwegian suggested that comparisons between the two players were natural and insisted that the Englishman has the potential to be a “top, top player”.
Rashford has 13 goals and four assists in 21 appearances across all competitions so far this season but is aware that he has a long way to go before he matches the five-time Ballon d’Or winner’s achievements.
“The Ronaldo [comparison] was nice, definitely a compliment,” Rashford told BBC Sport.
“But I understand how far I’ve got left to go to reach the heights he reached so I am very clear-minded and focused on myself.”
Rashford also opened up on his transition from academy player to first-team regular, having burst onto the scene as an 18-year-old early in 2016.
Back-to-back braces against Midtjylland in the Europa League and Arsenal in the Premier League catapulted the forward into the spotlight and he has remained a part of the senior squad ever since.
He believes that his experiences – and the experiences of other academy graduates – will benefit the next generation of talent coming through at United.
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“It is a bit overwhelming, but it is the process of development. The players I looked up to are obviously older now. The younger players look up to us. The transition happens so fast. When I understood that, my perception of that picture changed a little bit.
“When I was younger and saw people such as Beckham and Scholes on the walls, it gave me that determination every time you went to training. I wanted to reach those heights. I knew they were on the other side of the building, training every day and working hard. I was so far away from them but so close at the same time.
“It’s happening now where people like me and Scotty [McTominay] are an example to some of the academy lads who are coming in. It will be the same in a few years’ time, when it’s the next lot of kids. While that happens, I don’t see United’s breeding of players slowing down.”
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