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Comparing Marcus Rashford and Cristiano Ronaldo's records at 22

Marcus Rashford is a regular for Manchester United.
Marcus Rashford is a regular for Manchester United.

Marcus Rashford emerged as a highly-rated youngster in the Manchester United academy. Having been given a first-team opportunity by Louis Van Gaal in 2016, he broke all sorts of goalscoring records and has not looked back since then.

The 22-year-old has gone on to cement his place as a regular at both club and international level, while he has also made waves off the field with his humanitarian deeds.

Marcus Rashford has drawn comparisons to another player who made a name for himself as a youngster at Manchester United, and although Cristiano Ronaldo did not come through the United academy, he also made an impact at the club during his teenage years.

Marcus Rashford and Cristiano Ronaldo at 22, how do they compare?

Ronaldo was a star at Manchester United at 22.
Ronaldo was a star at Manchester United at 22.

Marcus Rashford will turn 23 in the coming days, and with just over a week to go until he passes the 22-year mark, we look at how his club career stacks up against Ronaldo's at 22.

To date, the England international has played 221 matches (154 starts) for Manchester United, scoring 71 goals and providing 41 assists.

Of his goals, eight were penalties, with his goal ratio at 202.8 goals per minute. Furthermore, he has been involved in a goal or an assist every 128.6 minutes for the team.

Cristiano Ronaldo, on the other hand, had played 219 club matches for Sporting Lisbon and Manchester United before he turned 23. Of these, 178 were starts, while 41 were in substitute appearances.

The Portugal international had scored 77 goals and provided 55 assists, scoring 10 penalties during this time. Ronaldo's goals came at a ratio of 212.6 minutes per goal, while he was involved in a goal or assist every 126.9 minutes.

As can be inferred from the data above, both men have almost similar records in terms of goals output, although the current Juventus star was the slightly better creator of goals.

Their trophy count for the two players is also different. Cristiano Ronaldo had won five major trophies - including the Premier League - before he turned 23 while Marcus Rashford has four honours, and is yet to get his hands on the league title.

Moving ahead, things are also more lofty for Marcus Rashford, as just a year later, Ronaldo was named the Ballon d'Or winner. He then joined Real Madrid for a world record fee en-route to becoming unarguably one of the best players in the history of the game.

It might be impossible for Rashford to match Ronaldo's accomplishments, but if he can continue performing the way he has for the team, he is well on his way to becoming a United legend.

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