MARCUS Rashford’s mother has revealed she skipped meals to make sure the England striker and his brothers got by.
Melanie Maynard would go without but pretend she’d eaten if her three boys asked.
Marcus Rashford with his mum Melanie holding up his Man Of The Match gong
She tells a BBC1 documentary: “As long as they got something to eat that was more what I was worried about. Sometimes we didn’t even have a loaf of bread in the house. But I wouldn’t tell somebody I was struggling either. It was embarrassing.”
Man Utd hero Marcus, 23, forced a Government U-turn on free school meal vouchers and has since been made an MBE.
When he was a kid his mum worked three jobs — at bookie Ladbrokes, as a cleaner after hours, and washing pots. Mel said: “I was working for Ladbrokes and worked there for 21 years. The cleaning job at Ladbrokes, I took that as well. I’d do my shift and go back and do the cleaning. Then I used to do pot washing on a Saturday as well.
“I used to say to the kids sometimes that I’d already eaten because they used to say to me: ‘Have you had yours?’ and I’d say: ‘Yeah’ but I didn’t have anything to eat.”
Melanie went hungry so that Marcus and his siblings could eat while growing upCredit: Refer to Caption
Marcus, now 23, has been campaigning to feed Britain’s poorest kids
She added: “I was just doing my best to survive. Now Marcus has provided me a home and I sit in my room sometimes and just cry. You’re thinking about where you’ve come from to where you are now.”
Marcus tells the show, which airs on Monday at 7pm: “Nevermind an MBE or being a football player, it just wouldn’t have been likely if I didn’t have somebody like her behind me.
“A lot of the work is Mum’s. She brought me up with these morals and expectations.”
Marcus and his mother Melanie visit FareShare Greater Manchester Credit: AP:Associated Press
The Man Utd hero forced a Government U-turn on free school meal vouchers Credit: PA:Press Association
The Sun Says
IS it any wonder Marcus Rashford’s heart is in the right place?
His single mum Melanie worked long, gruelling minimum wage shifts to support him and his brothers — and even skipped meals to ensure they got fed.
Marcus’s MBE at just 23 recognises not his football talents so much as the values Melanie imbued in him.
Most of us make sacrifices for our kids.
But her selflessness is still an example to every parent in the land.
Man Utd star Marcus Rashford takes on child food poverty in new BBC documentary Feeding Britain’s Children
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Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
