In a Zoom conversation organised by Penguin Books, the pair discussed some of the themes in the President’s memoir, A Promised Land, including the power that young people have to make change, the positive impact that reading can have and the importance of giving back to your community.
Marcus also opened up about his new book, You Are A Champion, which he hopes will inspire young supporters to read more and broaden their horizons.
Here, we highlight everything that former president Obama said about our homegrown hero…
BE MORE LIKE MARCUS
“If I had more talent, I would have probably preferred to be a professional athlete like Marcus but I wasn’t strong, fast or quick enough, or gifted enough. For me it was basketball, though, that was my true love.”
TAKE A RISK, MAKE A DIFFERENCE
“From what I have read about what Marcus is doing, he is taking his own experiences and he has realised, ‘I have now been blessed, I have the good fortune of being this prominent footballer and people pay attention to what I say, so how do I give back and take what I know about living in modest means, not having enough to eat all of the time, there are kids like that who are feeling the same, so what can I do for them?’ Like Marcus, we all find out own paths to that kind of service and if enough young people do that then that is how progress gets made, and that is how we move forward. My hope is that when people read the book, they recognise that nobody is destined to be president, nobody is destined to have an impact, it is a matter of you taking the risk and taking the chance to make the difference.”
An honour @BarackObama ️ https://t.co/TLKp5kXvt0
— Marcus Rashford MBE (@MarcusRashford) May 28, 2021
