Gary Neville claims Marcus Rashford's trip to USA was unprofessional

Gary Neville has questioned the professionalism of both Marcus Rashford and Casemiro after the Manchester United pair jetted to the United States during the international break.

Rashford, who once again was not selected by Lee Carsley for England's final Nations League matches last week, enjoyed his Three Lions exile by travelling stateside to watch an NBA game between New York Knicks and Brooklyn Nets at Madison Square Garden last Friday.

Before taking to his courtside seats, Rashford was greeted by a host of NBA players including Knicks point guard Jalen Brunson and many stars of the entertainment world such as Spike Lee and Ben Stiller.

The Manchester United forward, who wore a black t-shirt, black leather trousers and a white Louis Vuitton coat, also caught the eye with glitzy new set of grills to accompany his fashionable outfit.

Meanwhile, Casemiro travelled to Orlando over the international break and posted photos of him and his family at Disney World on Instagram.

The Brazilian midfielder posted to Instagram: 'Awesome few days in Orlando with family and friends, will be back soon!!! Thank you, Orlando, US!!' 

But Red Devils legend Neville said he was disappointed with the pair for jetting across the Atlantic during Ruben Amorim's first fortnight as Man United boss, as he also questioned their professionalism and suggested they would suffer from jet lag upon their return.

'The professionalism, looking after your body and making sure you’re best prepared for the next training session is critical to every decision you make during the season,' Neville said on the Stick to Football podcast, brought to you by Sky Bet.

'He has got a mental break, he’s got to get away and has got to rest with friends - then you talk about the choice of venue, how far do you fly, what’s the time difference, is that going to give a jet lag issue, is that going to give a stiffness issue from being on a flight for 12 hours?

'This is on Casemiro more than Rashford but if I’m 30 years old and I’m looking after my body – and he’s won five Champions Leagues and is an unbelievable player, but if he was away with Brazil for 10 days, we would say he would struggle this weekend because he’s been away. 

'They have chosen that international break. If you are talking about the minor details in being as professional as you can be and as prepared you can be for a training session on a Monday night, that isn’t the best choice of venue.'

Rashford was joined by his friend Ro-Shaun Williams, who came through the United ranks with the 27-year-old and now plays for Northern Irish side Larne.

The Red Devils forward had previously travelled to Belfast to meet Williams in January, after his former team-mate had signed for his new club.

The trip ultimately led to Rashford being disciplined by recently sacked Man United boss Erik ten Hag after the forward had called in sick following an all-day drinking session in Belfast the previous day. 

Neville added: 'I’m not that wound up about Rashford and Casemiro going over to the United States, but what I’m asking is, if you’ve got a four-day break, Portland is a 12-hour flight and an eight-hour time difference, your jet lag is bad, and you feel a bit [rough]. 

'They went to Portland, and I’m asking the question based on professionalism – you’re playing badly, the team are losing, your 13th in the league, and there is a new manager coming in – would you choose that trip as a break to recharge your batteries? That’s not a recharging trip. It’s not right that.'

Mail Sport understands that, contrary to Neville's comments, Rashford did not travel to Portland and instead only went to New York over the international break, which from Manchester constitutes a roughly a seven-hour flight and thus a four-hour time difference.

Rashford and Casemiro were not the only Manchester United stars to jet across the world during the international break, with £86million signing Antony returning to his homeland Brazil for the first time since Ten Hag's sacking.

Ian Wright disagreed with his podcast co-host, however, and said he had no problem with Rashford and Casemiro heading to the US during their time off.

When asked whether he would travel to the USA during an international break, Wright said: 'If it’s my time off then yes, I’d do it. Simply, because it’s my time off. If you’re going for three or four days, that jet lag won’t cause you too much of a problem.

Amorim, who officially took charge at Old Trafford last week, will want to get off to a fast start at the club against Ipswich on Sunday, especially given Ruud van Nistelrooy went undefeated during his interim spell at the helm.

United had slipped to 14th in the Premier League prior to Ten Hag's departure and have climbed up one place since ahead of Sunday's trip to Portman Road. 

Although Rashford and Casemiro are two of Manchester United's most experienced players, there is no guarantee Amorim selects the pair in his strongest XI.

Rashford, who has netted 140 goals for the club since coming through Old Trafford's youth ranks, has endured a sharp decline in form over the past two seasons, scoring just seven Premier League goals last season and once so far this term. 

His poor goal-scoring form saw Rashford dropped from Gareth Southgate's Euro 2024 squad, despite being an England mainstay for several years, and he has since struggled to break back into the fold under Carsley.

Casemiro has been the subject of criticism over the same timeframe, struggling to win plaudits since his promising first season at Old Trafford.

Last campaign, the Brazilian — who left Real Madrid as a serial winner when he joined United in 2022 — was heavily criticised by Jamie Carragher as Liverpool legend claimed football had 'left him'.

Suggesting he could no longer perform at the top level, Carragher said of Casemiro on Sky Sports: 'Leave the football before the football leaves you.'

This season, Casemiro has started seven of 11 Premier League games so far and scored once, which came in Manchester United's 2-1 defeat by West Ham — Ten Hag's final match in charge. 

Neville doubled on his view of the United duo travelling to the United States on the It's Called Soccer podcast. 

He said: 'It comes with the territory when you're this sort of player and stature. I've got very little sympathy for players who are the stars who are on huge money, huge commercial contracts.

'They want that attention, they need it as that's what fuels them and makes them the great players what they are and that's what gives them that adrenaline rush.

'They're going to get more attention, so I've got no problem with that and the attention he gets.

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'I've got no problem with him going away in the international break and I've got no problem with the clothes that he wears, he can wear whatever he wants, the only thing I would say, and I'm saying this very calmly as I don't want a "Neville hammers Rashford" to be honest with you, as I'm not hammering him.'

'It's been a very difficult period for the club and it's been a very difficult period for Marcus Rashford,' he continued. 

'There was a player I used to play with that used to say, when times were tough that basically you go down to that extra level of detail in making sure everything's perfect, you take the butter off your toast, you literally make sure you're absolutely looking at every single one per cent of detail you could.'