Marcus Rashford admits he made mistakes, but he believes it is incorrect to doubt his dedication to Manchester United following a 12-hour tequila binge in Belfast last month.

Rashford missed training after going to Northern Ireland on a private plane, and he attempted to mislead United by stating the boozy night out occurred 24 hours earlier, before a planned day off.

The England player, 26, was dropped for the FA Cup match against Newport and faced tremendous criticism, but he has denied any idea that he is not entirely devoted to his boyhood club.

‘Listen, I’m not the perfect person,’ Rashford writes. ‘When I make a mistake, I’ll be the first to raise my hand and admit I need to do better.

‘But if you ever question my allegiance to Manchester United, I’ll have to speak up.

‘It’s like someone is challenging my entire identity and everything I stand for. I grew up here. I’ve been a member of this club since I was a boy. When I was a kid, my parents turned down life-changing money so that I may wear this badge.

Football may be a bubble. I tried to be a normal person and keep my friends. I’ve done my best not to change, even on a night out or on vacation.

‘But there is another side to that. I am a human being. I’ve made mistakes that many men in their twenties make, and I’ve attempted to learn from them. But I’ve also made sacrifices that nobody sees.

‘What I want you to understand is that money is not what keeps you going during difficult times. It is the love of the game, plain and simple.

Rashford, writing for the Players’ Tribune, said that naysayers have had their knives out for him since he received an MBE in 2021 for his efforts to combat child poverty.

‘I think some of it goes back to the pandemic,’ he said. ‘I was just trying to use my voice to ensure that children would not go hungry, since I understand how it feels.

‘That seemed to rub some individuals the wrong way. It appears they’ve been waiting for me to have a human moment so they can point and say, “See? “See who he really is?”

‘I can handle any criticism. But if you start questioning my dedication to this club, my passion of football, and my decision to involve my family, I’d simply ask you to be more human.

‘You have to understand, when I was younger, playing for United meant everything. It was out of reach for us. It was difficult to get there and much harder to stay.

‘Money is wonderful. It is a blessing. But dreams are priceless. Even at the age of 11, my only objective was to play for United.

‘To be able to go on and live that dream as a kid from Manchester – as a kid from Hulme, Moss Side, Chorlton, Withington, and Wythenshawe – if you think I’d ever take that for granted, you don’t know me.

‘You know what, though? To be honest, it doesn’t bother me when people question my credibility. When everyone says they love me, I become dubious. I understand how the world works.

‘Whenever I’m in my worst moments, when it feels like half the world is against me, I go off by myself for a few days to reset, and then I’m OK. When that didn’t work, I found someone else to chat to.

‘But every time I’ve been down, physically or mentally, I feel like that’s when I turn things around and play my greatest football for United and England.’