Marcus Rashford says mural messages 'really lifted me' as they find permanent home

Marcus Rashford has said he is "truly grateful" for the support he received at his mural in Manchester following Euro 2020.

Rashford was subjected to racist abuse online after missing a penalty in the Euro 2020 final, triggering a huge outpouring of support for the Manchester United and England forward.

Messages and supportive notes were posted in their hundreds to cover up vandalism sprayed on the mural after the Euro 2020 final - all of which are now being taken to a permanent home.

"At one of my lowest points, the outpouring of support around this mural really lifted me and I’m truly grateful for that," Rashford tweeted.

"Pleased to say that all of your lovely messages will live on through the digital wall of hope."

On Friday, the messages were removed so they could be transported to a more permanent home - Manchester Central Library's archives.

There were concerns the messages wouldn't survive after an unexpected downpour on Thursday evening.

Staff from the Manchester Art Gallery and archives team rushed to the mural as soon as the rain started and were relieved to see that despite being very wet, the vast majority of the messages survived the inclement weather.

Asked why the messages are so important, Larysa Bolton, Senior Archivist at Manchester Central Library said: "It's about Marcus and it's about his lived experience.

"It's the fact he has to deal with huge amounts of racism while he's just doing his job. And everybody's turned up to say they've got his back - it's just simply that that makes it so important."

BT's Hope United - an initiative which aims to tackle online hate - has worked with Withington Walls - who first commissioned the mural - to create a digital version of the covered wall.

Visitors to the web page can browse the messages of love and support virtually.