Man Utd star Rashford’s goal celebration is spreading across the sporting world – but what does ‘the point’ mean?

IT’s a sight we’re seeing in abundance this season.

The moment in-form Man Utd striker Marcus Rashford scores for his club, he runs towards the crowd and points his index finger to his temple.

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The 25-year-old England star is enjoying a renaissance – and has scored 18 goals in all competitions.

His most recent – a stunning solo effort against Nottingham Forest in the first leg of the EFL Cup semi-finals – helped the Red Devils reach the final of the competition.

Again, he brought out this famous celebration that seems to have caught on in the sporting world and inspired others to follow Rashford’s example.

But what does it mean?

Mental health

Nobody knows for sure.

However, popular opinion believes by pointing to his sanity – Rashford highlights mental health.

The free school lunch hero has been mentally open about his struggles – admitting it handicapped him in the 2021-22 season.

He told Sky Sports after scoring against West Ham in October: “I’ve struggled with more mental things at times.

“It wasn’t really my own performance but other things off the pitch. That’s the biggest difference from last season.

“Last season I wasn’t in the right headspace for games too many times. I wasn’t surprised by some of the things that happened.”

That goal against the Hammers was his 100th for United – and how he’s continued in that rich kind of form shows he’s over mental issues.

Another theory is that Rashford has regularly suffered from the noise and pressure leading the line at Old Trafford.

Closing his eyes while pointing at his head could also serve to shut out outside distractions and unwanted criticism.

This allows him to do what he does best; score goals.

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It’s contagious

Rashford’s Temple Point is all the rage in football, and many stars of the beautiful game have adopted it themselves.

Three Lions team-mate Bukayo Saka copied the celebration against United after scoring for Arsenal – in the same game Rashford also found the net and pointed to his skull.

Bayern superstar Joshua Kimmich followed suit after a dramatic late goal against Cologne.

Chesterfield’s Armando Dobra also copied Rashford’s move in an FA Cup third round tie against West Brom.

Incredibly, the celebration now extends beyond football.

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After his 10th Australian Open and 22nd Grand Slam title, tennis superstar Novak Djokovic pointed to the side of his head.

And when fast bowler Jofra Archer of England and Sussex, a big Man Utd fan, got a wicket in South Africa’s SA20 competition, he did the same.

Is it groundbreaking?

Although it seems to be a current trend, there are arguments online that it wasn’t even Rashford who invented the celebration.

While you can’t say he’s inspired others lately, these stars will claim to have been more groundbreaking.

Arsenal’s Nicklas Bendtner was seen drowning out the haters in a similar goal celebration dating back to 2011.

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While Wolves’ Ruben Neves can claim to have performed it in 2018 when his club were aiming for promotion from the Championship.

Anyway, now it’s spilled over into other sports – expect more sports stars to embrace the point of temple celebration.