Messages of support left on Marcus Rashford mural to be preserved for Manchester city

Supporters of Marcus Rashford left thousands of messages of solidarity for the England player(Photo by Alex Livesey - Danehouse/Getty Images)

THE THOUSANDS of heartfelt messages of support left on the mural of England plater Marcus Rashford in Withington, Manchester are to be removed and preserved on Friday 23 July, ahead of forecasted rain to appear over the weekend.

Manchester Art Gallery, Central Library’s Archives department, the People’s History Museum, the National Football Museum, the University of Manchester, and the Withington Walls project, who first commissioned the mural to be painted, have all been involved in ongoing discussions on how best to preserve the tributes left by fans.

The organisations involved want to ensure that the messages of love and support are not forgotten in the years to come and what was a mark of shared national solidarity for Rashford, and the England team’s other black players Jandon Sancho and Buyako Saka.

All three players were subject to a torrent of racist abuse online after missing in a penalty shootout against Italy during last Sundays Euro 2020 final.

Councillor Luthfur Rahman, Deputy Leader of Manchester City Council, said: “We think it’s important this shared moment of solidarity – that started with the placing of just one small message of love on the mural after it was defaced – an action that spoke to the whole country and not just Manchester, is remembered and preserved for future generations.”

A team of library professionals are due to be begin the painstaking process of separating each of the messages, followed by recording, and photographing them.

However, it still remains undecided where the thousands of handwritten messages will end up with discussions of them potentially being publicly displayed or used for education.

Rashford himself has also been approached and asked how he would like them to be used in his home city.

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