Marcus Rashford was rejected by Man City as a kid for same reason River Plate didn't want Lionel Messi

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With 14 goals already this season, the 25-year-old is leading the Red Devils' resurgence under Erik ten Hag and rediscovering his full potential.

However, City failed to see what the England star was capable of as a kid.

Aged six, Rashford joined Fletcher Moss Rangers, who have provided United with a number of young stars, including Danny Welbeck and Ravel Morrison.

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After starting out in goal, Rashford quickly established himself as a special talent, and spent a week training with City as an eight-year-old.

However, they decided Rashford was not big enough to make it as a footballer.

Ron Jamieson, secretary of Fletcher Moss, told The Times in 2016: "His brother Dwayne was with him when he came to us. He was touting him to Manchester City at the time but the recruitment officer there did not fancy him because he was a bit on the small side and didn't pick him up.

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"We took him to the [Champion of Champions] tournament and all the scouts were there. Everton were very keen and Manchester United. It was advantageous for us to push him towards United so he went there and the rest is history."

Rashford is not the only high-profile player who deceived clubs with his height as a youngster.

River Plate famously turned down the chance to sign Lionel Messi because he was too small.

"When you saw him you would think: this kid can't play ball. He's a dwarf, he's too fragile, too small.

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"But immediately you'd realise that he was born different, that he was a phenomenon and that he was going to be something impressive."

That's what Newell's Old Boys youth coach Adrian Coria said about a 12-year-old Messi back in 1999.

By that age, the Argentine was already a phenomenon, having scored almost 500 goals in six years at the Rosario club.

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But while there was no doubt about Messi's talent, his physicality threatened his future as a professional footballer.

Noticeably smaller than kids his age, he was diagnosed with growth hormone deficiency aged ten.

His treatment required painful, nightly injections, and the cost of $1,000-a-month was not sustainable in an Argentine economy which had recently collapsed.

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Newell's Old Boys initially agreed to help foot the bill, but quickly retracted their offer, then River Plate wanted Messi, but also decided not to cover the costs.

It is the reason he ended up joining Barcelona as a 13-year-old.

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