Marcus Rashford has surprised a 10-year-old charity fundraiser after being inspired by his story.
The Manchester United forward appeared on a Zoom call with Ben Dickinson, who has raised money for the Northern Ireland Children’s Hospice by running a mile a day for 26 days in March.
Ben thought he was doing an interview with Sky Sports News before Rashford himself joined the call.
Rashford said (via Sky Sports): “I’m very proud of you. I think one of the biggest reasons I started to do this was to encourage children to take responsibility and do things off their own back.
“You should be very proud of yourself and I’m sure your family are. It brings me great joy to see you do the things you’re doing.
“The money is great but the thought and principle behind it shows we are making progress.”
A shocked Ben replied: “You’ve inspired me to do this. Thank you.
“I had to get my fitness levels up after lockdown but I thought I could give back while doing it. Rashford fed kids during lockdown so I thought I’d help sick kids.”
Ben’s dad Andrew added: “Marcus, you should be very proud of yourself too. You see that effect it has on kids like Ben. You should be very proud of that.”
There was a signed shirt for Ben, too, who was visibly delighted to spend some time speaking to Rashford.
Watch the video with Rashford and Ben below:
My guy Ben, what a hero 👊🏽♥️ https://t.co/I4Y14qvpbx
— Marcus Rashford MBE (@MarcusRashford) March 16, 2021
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