Richard Keys has called on Marcus Rashford to refocus on football, amid the Manchester United forward's continued work to help combat child poverty.
The former Sky Sports broadcaster, who was fired alongside Andy Gray in 2011 for sexist remarks, wrote in his latest column that Rashford should "Leave it there" - in regard to his admirable off the pitch activism.
Now working for BeIN Sports, Keys also took a swipe at Wolverhampton Wanderers defender Conor Coady, in a bizarrely pointed attack on the conscientious Premier League star.
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The timing of his comments are especially odd, as Rashford has only recently returned to action following a long-term injury layoff.
Despite Keys' assertion that he has been sidetracked of late, the England international hasn't looked at all out of place in the United XI, already scoring three goals in six outings.
The 64-year-old also took issue with some of Coady's comments from earlier this week, in which the Wolves man stated that the England squad will use their platform to highlight human rights abuses in Qatar ahead of next year's World Cup.
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"Will you use your platform to highlight abuses in Saudi when Newcastle come calling in January - offering to fatten up your bank account?" Keys asks of Coady, before swiftly training his crosshairs on Rashford.
"This is where it gets complicated when pop stars/footballers and the like start to want to get taken seriously - and they forget about the day job," the current BeIN Sports anchor claims.
Rashford was recently awarded an MBE by Prince William for his work in combatting childhood poverty around the UK, which has become an even more pressing issue due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
While Keys does praise the 24-year-old's work outside of football, he also chose to echo Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's recent comments - in which the Norwegian told Rashford to "prioritise his football".
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"Marcus Rashford is also a good example of that. What he did to tackle child hunger was wonderful. But leave it there, Marcus. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was right - get back to you doing what you're paid for. There's a need for massive improvement there," Keys wrote.
"Rashford has made 183 appearances for United and scored 57 goals - one every 3.21 games. Making 46 appearances for England he's scored 12 goals - one every 3.83 games. For a striker - is that enough?"
Featured Image Credit:Topics: Manchester United, Premier League, Marcus Rashford, Sky Sports, Richard Keys, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer