Marcus Rashford reportedly collapsed fully clothed into bed hours before calling in sick to Manchester United training last week following an all-day drinking session in Belfast.
The 26-year-old, who has been lauded in recent years for his charity work and even received an MBE for his efforts to battle food poverty, is alleged to have downed shots of tequila during a boozy trip to the Northern Irish capital.
A waitress, who claims she was invited out by the England star, said at the end of the night he was so drunk that he dropped wads of cash in front of her in his five-star hotel room, moments before she was forced to put him to bed after he passed out.
Speaking to The Sun, Sarah Adair claimed Rashford, who is reportedly paid £325,000 a week, invited her on the ‘weird’ night out in which she said he was ‘clearly on a mission to get drunk’.
The footballer, who was pictured having dinner with his childhood sweetheart fiance Lucia Loi in November months after they split, was also allegedly seen arguing with a French woman at a nightclub.
Rashford’s behaviour, which saw him dropped from the Manchester United team and saw the club issue a statement saying he had ‘taken responsibility’, is alleged to have angered his team-mates with one source saying: ‘They couldn’t believe that he would do that given the situation the club is in.’
The player appeared to have the world at his feet following the World Cup last year, but has not produced his best form this season and in October manager Erik Ten Hag criticised him for partying on his 26th birthday hours after losing to Manchester City in the derby.
Marcus Rashford went and visited Larne FC before going on a 12-hour bender in Belfast
Waitress Sarah Adair, pictured, said she was invited on a night out with the footballer and his entourage
Rashford was spotted going into a nightclub late at night, and reportedly asked if there were any clubs that would stay open beyond 3am if he paid them enough money
Rashford had arrived in the Northern Irish capital on Wednesday on a private jet from Manchester, before checking into the five-star Fitzwilliam Hotel and heading out to the Dirty Onion pub and Lavery’s bar, it’s claimed.
The next day, after visiting Larne FC – who his friend Ro-Shaun Williams had just signed for – the 26-year-old went to the Italian restaurant where Adair works.
The mother of on told the Sun she didn’t initially recognise the footballer, who reportedly signed a £375,000-a-week contract with Manchester United last year, and only found out when her manager told her who he was.
The 30-year-old said Rashford was joined by two men and two women, one of whom was ‘French and very beautiful’, with the group ordering food and drinks.
She claimed that the footballer ordered sea bass but didn’t touch his food, instead focusing on shots of tequila and cocktails, before inviting her to join the group on their night out.
After she agreed to join him, Rashford asked Adair whether she knew any nightclubs that would remain open beyond 3am if he paid them enough money.
‘That made it clear to me that he had already made his mind up that he wasn’t going to training on Friday. He had no plans to go home that night,’ she said.
Adair said she finished her shift at 5pm and returned to the city centre two hours later to meet Rashford, but was made to wait until 9.40pm before a Mercedes van collected her.
He posed for pictures with some young players at Larne FC prior to his boozy night out
The night kicked off with a trip to Italian restaurant Villa Italia (pictured), where Rashford and his entourage enjoyed food and drinks
Rashford went to Thompsons Garage nightclub (pictured) after midnight, having spent the afternoon drinking with his entourage and waitress, Sarah Adair
Timeline of Marcus Rashford’s trip to Belfast and the fallout
Wednesday, January 24
9.55am Rashford arrives for training with Manchester United in the morning.
4.21pm In the afternoon he leaves Manchester on a private jet bound for Belfast.
5.17pm On arriving in the Northern Irish capital he checks in at the Fitzwilliam Hotel. The footballer and his entourage then go to the Dirty Onion pub and Lavery’s bar.
Thursday, January 25
1.06pm The footballer is pictured visiting Larne FC, where his friend Ro-Shaun Williams has just signed.
2pm He goes to an Italian restaurant with his entourage and two women, where he meets Sarah Adair.
4.30pm The group leave the restaurant in the afternoon, before going to Villa Italia in the evening.
Friday, January 26
12.30am Rashford and his group go to Thompson’s Garage nightclub.
2am The group leave and head back to the Fitzwilliam Hotel. Sources close to the player insist this was at 1.15am.
2.50am Rashford passes out fully clothed in his hotel room.
5am The footballer and his minders leave the hotel.
7am They board a private jet at Belfast airport.
8am Rashford touches down in Manchester and calls in sick for training.
Sunday, January 28
The striker is dropped for Manchester United’s FA Cup match away at Newport County. Manager Erik Ten Hag vows to deal with the ‘internal matter’.
Monday, January 29
8.45am Rashford arrives at training with his agent brother Dwaine Maynard, where he has talks with Ten Hag and football director John Murtough.
She said she was taken in a taxi to the Villa Italia restaurant to meet Rashford and his entourage where the United star had booked out the top floor and brought his own Bluetooth speaker to listen to his favourite rap music.
Adair stated that Rashford was drinking tequila with his friends and was ‘clearly on a mission to get drunk’.
She said the group then headed on to the nightclub Thompson’s, where he was pictured by other revellers, before going to a private area The Attic for more drinks.
A source close to Rashford told the Sun that he left the club at 1.15am, but Adair said the group stayed out until close to 2am before his security decided to take him back to his hotel.
When they got returned to the Fitzwilliam Hotel, where Rashford was staying in the £1,500-a-night residence suite, Adair claimed she had to put him to bed.
Adair said: ‘He was so drunk at this point.
‘Then he falls back into the wall and I have to kind of scoop him up and on to the bed. He was fully dressed and I reckon he just passed out like that. He didn’t even get under the covers.’
She awoke at 9.30am on Friday to find out Rashford had left four-and-a-half hours earlier.
He landed back in Manchester at 8am, but did not train that day after phoning in sick.
A source close to Rashford told the Sun that he had less than £1,000 in cash on him, adding: ‘Marcus accepts his standards have fallen well short of what is expected.’
After leaving Rashford out of his squad on Sunday, Ten Hag vowed to deal with the ‘internal matter’.
United released a statement on Monday evening confirming Rashford had taken responsibility for his actions and they now consider the matter closed.
It said: ‘Marcus has taken responsibility for his actions. This has been dealt with as an internal disciplinary matter, which is now closed.’
Mail Sport reported yesterday that his teammates were not happy with his actions, which came ahead of the club’s match against Newport County in the FA Cup, which represents their only realistic chance of a trophy this season.
A source said: ‘The players were told he was too ill to train, and then it came out that he’d been in the nightclub. They couldn’t believe that he would do that given the situation the club is in.’
United sources wouldn’t say if Rashford has been punished by Ten Hag, who has the power to fine the player two weeks’ wages totalling around £630,000.
After arriving in Belfast on Wednesday Rashford went to the Dirty Onion pub (left) and Lavery’s bar (right)
The footballer stayed at the five-star Fitzwilliam Hotel (pictured) during his trip to Belfast last week
At the hotel Rashford is believed to have stayed in The Residence Suite (pictured), which is often used by celebrities
Rashford was reminded by a friend that he had training the next day but wanted to stay out
They confirmed that Rashford has returned to training and is contention for Thursday’s trip to face Wolves at Molineux where he was dropped last season after turning up late for a team meeting.
On the ‘It’s All Kicking Off’ podcast, Mail Sport star columnist and Premier League winner Chris Sutton tore into Rashford for his alleged lack of discipline.
‘Marcus Rashford is like a good few Manchester United players at this moment in time,’ said Sutton.
‘He thinks he’s untouchable. This hasn’t been the first time where he’s had a misdemeanour. It’s been continuous. He has no respect for the manager and no respect for his teammates. That’s the bottom line.
‘He’s probably thinking he is going to outlast Ten Hag anyway but he’s out of control as far as I can see.’
This is the second time this season that Ten Hag has had to deal with the fallout from Rashford’s nightclubbing.
Ten Hag branded the player’s behaviour as ‘unacceptable’ in October after he celebrated his 26th birthday with family and friends at Chinawhite straight after United had lost to Manchester City in the Old Trafford derby.
The Red Devils suffered a 3-0 defeat to Pep Guardiola’s side, but Rashford was seen hours later partying in the nightclub.
Ten Hag addressed the matter back in October, saying: ‘I spoke with him about it. It’s unacceptable. He apologised and that is it. For us it’s an internal matter.’
The Dutchman added: ‘He [Rashford] is very motivated to put things right. He’s totally with us.
‘He has made a mistake but that doesn’t say he’s not fitting in. I see him every day in training, what he’s doing, I know.’
On the pitch, the 26-year-old has endured a frustrating campaign, netting just four times in all competitions, compared to his 30-goal mark last term.