I made my Manchester United debut with Marcus Rashford – but now I’ve retired at 28

Marcus Rashford’s Premier League debut is notable for occurring only three days after his first appearance for the club at the senior level. Another academy graduate, who also made their debut on the field that day, is not widely known.

While Louis van Gaal granted Rashford, a young and inexperienced player, another opportunity after his impressive performance in a Europa League match against FC Midtjylland, James Weir was feeling extremely anxious for different reasons.

Manchester United had a 3-2 lead over Arsenal, with two goals scored by Rashford, who has now scored a total of four goals in less than 150 minutes of play for the club. At this point, Van Gaal decided to make substitutions from the bench. Sergio Romero served as the goalie, with a restriction of only seven players permitted, and a further limitation of only three players allowed to participate.

Adnan Januzaj substituted Rashford 10 minutes prior, Maros Rojo was substituted for Timothy Fosu-Mesah, the Gunners were beginning to recover in the game after being 3-0 behind at halftime. Paddy McNair and Andreas Pereira served as substitutes, as did Joe Riley.

Van Gaal disregarded these alternatives and instead opted for midfielder Weir. Ander Herrera was substituted after receiving a yellow card, despite having scored. As a result, Weir was given the opportunity to make his inaugural and sole appearance for the first team.

He departed from the Red Devils shortly after and joined Hull only six months later. He faced significant challenges due to injuries and had limited playing time.

Although he served as the captain of the Under-21s team at Carrington, which emerged as the league champions, he did not get another opportunity to play in the highest level of football. He missed the full season with Hull, who were subsequently relegated.

At the young age of 28, he has chosen to retire after playing for Wigan and Bolton, as well as venturing abroad to play for MTK Budapest, FC ViOn, and Pohronie.

Weir vividly recalls the season in which he participated in senior activities at United. “I was a substitute for approximately 10 games,” he said the Guardian. “It was a somewhat chaotic and fast-paced experience – it seems like a very long time has passed since then.”

“My first performance was a transcendent experience, and it remains the pinnacle of my professional life.” Being a member of the squad and having the opportunity to be part of a club of such magnitude was truly remarkable. I would not exchange that minute for anything.

During a prior interview with Planet Football, he provided additional information regarding his brief appearance lasting only one minute. “Typically, one would begin warming up after 25 minutes or go for a brief jog to catch the manager’s attention, but it was not the case with Van Gaal,” he stated.

“You were required to wait until he instructed you to warm up, indicating that he was then likely to assign you a task.” Approximately 75 to 80 minutes later, he instructed me to prepare for physical activity, and shortly after, someone called out to me from the sideline to return to the designated area for technical purposes. I was contemplating, ‘Goodness gracious, I am going to participate in this platform.’

“Although my parents were present, the entire event transpired swiftly. The surge of adrenaline propelled me, causing my recollection of the experience to be hazy. The only distinct memory I have is standing alongside Timothy Fosu-Mensah and Paddy McNair at the conclusion of the match, attempting to fully comprehend the magnitude of the moment.”

“I can proudly inform my children and grandchildren that I had the opportunity to play for Manchester United in the prestigious Premier League, although I might conveniently omit the brief one-minute duration of my appearance.”

In addition, he said the Manchester Evening News: “In that moment, my primary concern was to avoid making any mistakes. The score was 3-2, so my main objective was to exert maximum effort and utilize any available opportunities. Shortly thereafter, the game concluded.”

“I substituted Herrera and he approached me, telling me to ‘fight!'” It was characteristic of him. I have a vivid recollection of that. Regarding the coaches, I believe their approach was mostly focused on avoiding mistakes.

“Ander was a virtuous individual.” He displayed intense emotion and intensity, without any restraint. Van Gaal mimicked Alexis Sanchez’s fall on the touchline, creating a chaotic scene. At the time, I was engaged in a warm-up activity and mistakenly believed that a physical altercation was taking place. However, I only became aware of the situation after it had occurred.

Regarding Rashford, he further commented: “It was truly surreal to witness Marcus scoring twice.” It enhanced the significance of the day. Although I was little older than him, we resided in the same accommodation for a couple of years. In the past, we engaged in playing FIFA and dining together, although I didn’t participate in the game with him extensively due to my slightly older age.