Rashford has only scored one goal this season, but he has time for arguing on social media

Marcus Rashford has responded to recent speculations about his Manchester United future, telling a fan page to stop spreading "malicious" rumours. It would have been easier to take his remarks seriously if he didn't disappear in just about every United game this season.

The English forward faced criticism from manager Erik Ten Hag after being seen at a nightclub to celebrate his birthday following the team's 3-0 defeat to Manchester City. The forward missed the subsequent match against Fulham due to an injury sustained in training. The United Stand, a fan channel, suggested that his future at the club could be uncertain because of these events.

Responding to a tweet teasing the fan channel's upcoming live stream, Rashford said: "Please STOP spreading malicious rumours."

Rashford's current contract situation is stable, as he signed a new five-year deal with Manchester United in July. This contract made him the club's highest earner, with a weekly salary of $466,000. Despite a challenging season in which he scored just one goal in ten games, Rashford is coming off a 30-goal campaign. During the 2021/22 season, he was briefly linked with a possible move to Paris Saint-Germain, and there were concerns that he might leave on a free transfer at the end of the 2022/23 season when his previous contract was set to expire. However, United activated a one-year extension, preventing a free transfer and reportedly receiving interest from PSG, offering $500,000-a-week.

Rashford's ill-advised birthday party a few hours after the Manchester Derby loss put him under unneeded pressure. And former United captain Gary Neville said something like that would have never happened during Sir Alex Ferguson's reign.

"I've said it openly and publicly: if we lost a match, any match, forget about the Manchester derby where we wouldn't be seen for a week or two weeks, but if we lost a match, nights out were cancelled. Simple as that. That was my rule and the rule for the other lads in the dressing room. You couldn't be seen out in a public place if you lost a football match because, to be fair, you would be bumping into people who had paid big money to watch the team play and they don't really want to see you enjoying yourselves and celebrating - it's an optics thing."

Premier League's record goalscorer Alan Shearer also called Rashford out for a lack of common sense.

"I don't care if it's your birthday on a Saturday night. If you've been dumped 3-0, and it's a terrible performance, you've got to read the room. The number of times that that happened to me where we had a dinner planned or this planned, and we've been beaten on a Saturday night, and I've said, 'I can't go out, I'm not going out'. It was daft. It was stupid for Marcus to do that. Whether it's your birthday or not, you can't go out after you've been battered."

Rashford has been in poor form this season. He's only scored one goal in 14 appearances in all competitions.