Manchester United forward Marcus Rashford has been in spectacular form for the Red Devils since club football resumed after the 2022 Qatar World Cup.
Despite England’s quarterfinal exit from the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, Marcus Rashford’s composure and confidence remain with the striker, netting 10 goals for United since his return.
The 25-year-old England international has successfully recovered from last season’s struggles and has scored 18 crucial goals for United across all competitions.
Rashford’s most recent essential goal was his stunning solo effort against Nottingham Forest in the EFL Cup semi-final first leg which helped Manchester United advance to the final of the tournament.
However, the 25-year-old England’s vibrant striker has not only been scoring nearly one goal in every match since December, but he has also come up with a new vibe to celebrate his goals.
Marcus Rashford has recently been celebrating his goals by standing firm and pointing at his temple with his index finger.
Rashford started the ‘temple point’ goal celebration in the 1-0 win against Wolves on December 31st, joining the league of other top players with unique celebrations like Kylian Mbappe’s arm-fold and Cristiano Ronaldo’s ‘siuuuuu’ celebration.
What is Marcus Rashford’s goal celebration?
No one knows the meaning or reason behind the celebration but there’s a popular suggestion people hold to Rashford’s gesture.
There’s been the suggestion that by pointing to his mind, Rashford is accentuating mental health.
Although Rashford himself has not confirmed specifically what his celebration connotes, quotes from him in October affirmed he struggled with personal issues as he encountered some obstacles in his career during the 2021/22 season.
Rashford revealed after scoring against West Ham in October: “I was struggling at times with more mental things.
“It wasn’t my performance but other things off the pitch. That’s the biggest difference from last season.
“Too often last season, I wasn’t in the right headspace for games. I wasn’t surprised by some of the stuff that was happening.”
Meanwhile, his goal against West Ham United marked his 100th for Manchester United, and how he has continued in this outstanding form is evident that he is over mental miseries.
However, there’s another assumption about Rashford’s goal celebration.
The 25-year-old Three Lions’ star forward has regularly suffered with the noise, criticism, and pressure arising as a result of his woes early this season before he fired back to superb form at Old Trafford.
According to the second belief, closing his eyes while pointing to his head could mean shunning external distractions and unwanted criticisms, especially from fans.
Why are other athletes doing Rashford’s celebration?
Rashford’s famous goal celebration has seemingly caught on in the sporting world as many others who have been inspired by it now emulate Rashford’s temple point goal craze.
His new celebration has caught on across the Premier League and European football with rival players also imitating his goal gesture after scoring.
Arsenal star and England teammate Bukayo Saka copied Rashford in the Gunners’ 3-2 Premier League victory against Manchester United after the Red Devils forward, Rashford had opened the scoring sheet at the Emirates Stadium.
Meanwhile, players from across other major leagues have also been seen demonstrating Rashford’s goal celebration including England teammate Tammy Abraham at Roma and Germany star Joshua Kimmich.
Another interesting side of this is that the celebration has exceeded football to another sport.
Tennis superstar Novak Djokovic also imitated Rashford as he pointed towards the side of his head upon winning his 10th Australian Open, and 22nd Grand Slam title.
There has been an argument online that it wasn’t even Marcus Rashford who invented the temple point celebration.
Former Arsenal star Nicklas Bendtner was spotted celebrating in a similar gesture that goes back as far as 2011.
While Ruben Neves of Wolves can also lay claim to performing it in 2018.
But the gesture can still be credited to Rashford because he’s inspired other athletes and more sincerely, he’s doing wonderfully well.
