"For me, personally, I think I'm ready for a new challenge and the next steps," Marcus Rashford declared in a bombshell interview with journalist Henry Winter.

"When I leave it's going to be 'no hard feelings'. You're not going to have any negative comments from me about Manchester United. That's me as a person. If I know that a situation is already bad I'm not going to make it worse.

"I've seen how other players have left in the past and I don't want to be that person. When I leave I'll make a statement and it will be from me."

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It is a noble pursuit for Rashford to look for a new challenge away from United. Every player should be motivated by a desire to reach his best, and, clearly, the Englishman feels he has reached the end of the road at Old Trafford.

It should also be appreciated that Rashford wants to leave United in the 'right way'. He has had a lot of good memories at the Theatre of Dreams, and it is clear that some icons of the club have marred their legacy with how they left.

Cristiano Ronaldo is one player who is only just recovering from the damage he did to his legacy when leaving United for a second time. The temper tantrums and that interview with Piers Morgan left a bitter taste in the mouth, even if some of it was justified.

However, if Rashford were to follow Ronaldo's next career move after United, he would not be able to preserve relationships at Old Trafford, nor continue to argue with a straight face that his exit was motivated by mere professional ambition. According to several reports, Saudi Arabian clubs are the only teams able to afford an immediate transfer in January for Rashford.

Few batted an eye when Ronaldo took the money at Al Nassr, but should Rashford take that option now, he would live to regret it. There is an expectation that the new challenge for the forward should be in Europe, where he can battle in the Champions League and for other major domestic trophies.

A switch to the Middle East would be nothing more than a cash grab. There is no 'challenge' in moving to Saudi Arabia, as has been proven since they tried to mop up some of the best talent in Europe.

The Saudi Pro League has gone the way of the MLS and China in being lucrative retirement homes and is not the place for Rashford at 27. It would be a crying shame for the United man to wave goodbye to any hopes of rejoining the England squad by moving there, and he would lose plenty of respect in the process.

Deep down, Rashford knows what is best for his career, and if it is not staying at United, it is certainly not Saudi Arabia.