'I made Man Utd debut with Marcus Rashford but now I'm a travel agent after retiring at 28'

A player who made his Premier League debut with Marcus Rashford is now a travel agent after quitting football at just 28. Following a tough few years, Rashford is on the crest of a wave following his match-winning brace for Barcelona at Newcastle in the Champions League.

A perfect header and a rasping long-range effort at St James' Park underlined the quality Rashford has in his locker, which he struggled to produce on a regular basis at Manchester United, leading to his loan moves to Aston Villa last season and then Barcelona on a season-long deal. It’s been almost a decade since Rashford’s stunning first Premier League appearance.

Having scored twice off the bench in a Europa League victory over Midtjylland, Rashford was deployed from the start by then-manager Louis van Gaal. It proved to be one of the better decisions of the Dutchman’s tenure as Rashford scored twice to really announce himself to English football.

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Another United youngster made his Premier League debut that day in February 2016, James Weir, who came on for Ander Herrera in the 89th minute. His career went a very different direction from Rashford’s. He left for Hull City at the end of that season after captaining United’s under-21 side to the Premier League 2 title.

He played for Wigan Athletic and Bolton Wanderers and had spells in Slovakia and Hungary, but his career was blighted by injury before he retired last year.

He has since become an independent travel agent, telling the Manchester Evening News earlier this year: "It was around the time I had just come back from Slovakia, it was New Year's Eve, and I was speaking to one of my sister's friends who worked for this company [Travel Counsellors] in the head office.

"She was telling me about it, explaining that I could run my own business and that it was essentially a franchise, but you work as much as you want.

"I have always really liked travelling and I have been lucky enough to go to places in Europe and all around the world when I was younger with Man United; I went to Brazil and Singapore. I have always been one for going to different destinations which might not be on everybody's to-do list.

"I do enjoy that side of it and I like the idea of the freedom to run your own business. In football, you are constantly told what to do, when to do it, which is part of the game, but I like the idea of being a bit more flexible.

"I am really enjoying it. It is hard and it is a gradual thing, where you're building your business and your clients. But I am really enjoying it and I think I made the right decision."

While his football career did not pan out as hoped, he remains proud of his senior appearance for United on such a memorable day. He told the Guardian: “For Marcus to score twice was surreal. It made the day even more special.

“I was a bit older than him, but we were in the same digs together for a couple of years. We used to play FIFA together and go out for food, but I didn’t play with him too much as I was a bit older than him.

“When he got to the reserves, we had a couple of games, but he was straight through to the first team really. He missed that period because we had no strikers at the time.

“He went on to take his chance and the rest is history. We all knew he was the top one in his age group and that he was always destined to reach pretty good heights.”

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