Meet team Marcus Rashford: He has signed with Jay Z’s Roc Nation agency

What you need to know:

Marcus Rashford's deal with Roc Nation will take his profile on to another level
•REVEALED: United striker signs with agency owned by Shawn 'Jay-Z' Carter
• Roc Nation will handle his off-the-field affairs with his family overseeing football
•They played a supporting role in his campaign to feed under-privileged children
•Sportsmail takes a look at 'Team Rashford', the key figures supporting his career


Marcus Rashford's tie-up with the Roc Nation sports agency is taking the Manchester United striker's profile to another level.
Rashford was pictured with Roc Nation owner and chairman Shawn 'Jay-Z' Carter at the Super Bowl in Miami as a guest of sponsors Nike in February, and he signed with the agency two months later6
It means that Roc Nation will handle Rashford's off-the-field affairs while his family continue to oversee his playing career.
His brothers Dwaine Maynard and Dane Rashford will have complete control over the 22-year-old’s football affairs, having guided his career carefully over the last four-and-a-half years and negotiated the signing of a new contract 12 months ago.
Roc Nation played a supporting role in Rashford's campaign to feed under-privileged children during lockdown and throughout the summer holidays, forcing Prime Minister Boris Johnson and the Government into a U-turn.
The agency was formed in 2013 by Jay-Z, opening offices in the UK in December. The company’s clients include Rashford’s United team-mate Eric Bailly and his former striker partner Romelu Lukaku, as well as Manchester City star Kevin De Bruyne.
Although the US rap star and entrepreneur's involvement gives the operation an air of showbiz glamour, Roc Nation promotes itself as a company with a social conscience and philanthropy at heart.
That has been evident in Rashford’s crusade to feed vulnerable youngsters throughout lockdown and again last month when the company took out full-page adverts in a number of major US newspapers to pay tribute to George Floyd.
Roc Nation has established itself as a major player in the US sports market before launching in Europe, and recently signed a partnership agreement with Shanghai and Beijing-based agency SECA to expand into China.
Here, Sportsmail takes a look at 'Team Rashford', now bolstered by the deal with Roc Nation, and the key figures supporting his career.
 
DWAINE MAYNARD & DANE RASHFORD
Rashford's brothers are the guiding lights in his playing career and will continue to be so. Dwaine and Dane formed their own company DNMaysportsmgt after Marcus burst onto the scene with four goals in as many days against FC Midtjylland and Arsenal in February 2016.
They have seen his career blossom from playing junior football with Fletcher Moss Rovers to joining United's academy programme at the age of 11 and then making his senior debut as an 18-year-old under Louis van Gaal.
Rashford also has two sisters – Chantelle and Claire – but it's his brothers who have taken a hands-on role in his progress at United. DNMAYsportsmgt were instrumental in his contract renewal a year ago.
 
MELANIE MAYNARD

The influence of Rashford's mother in his life has been made clear from his recent campaign to provide free meals for vulnerable children.
The 22-year-old has spoken passionately about her efforts as a single mother to provide for a family of five children growing up in Withington, Fallowfield and Wythenshawe.
Melanie worked tirelessly to provide a better life for her kids and, notably, pushed for Marcus to be accepted into United's youth programme a year early so he would have access to better accommodation, education and nutrition.
She is credited with keeping Rashford grounded when his childhood could have taken him in a different direction, and she continues to have a strong influence over his life today.
Rashford initially paid off the mortgage on the home in Wythenshawe (they still own it to this day) before moving his mother into a luxury six-bedroom property.
 
KELLY HOGARTH
Hogarth is Rashford's personal publicist who has worked with the player and his family for the past year.
She already enjoyed a close working relationship with Rashford and his family before joining Roc Nation in January as director of brand strategy & business communications, and the England international signed for the company three months later.
Hogarth supported the recent campaign to extend the free school meal vouchers over the school holidays and the open letter to MPs that eventually forced Prime Minister Boris Johnson and the Department of Education to change their mind over the issue, creating a new £120m fund for vulnerable families.
 
MICHAEL YORMARK
Yormark is the president of Roc Nation Sports International and Co-CEO of Roc Nation Unified, having joined the company in 2014. He was previously president and CEO of NHL club Florida Panthers.
Yorkmark has driven the Roc Nation brand in Europe, opening the first physical office space in London in December 2019. He told Sportsmail in January: 'I spent a lot of time over here educating myself on the inner workings of football, and pitching the agency vision across our extensive network of club owners, chairmen and sporting directors.
'I wanted to better understand how players were being represented in Europe and maybe not represented. I saw an opportunity to do something special in a football space. It's about helping an athlete achieve their objectives both on the pitch and off the pitch. We sign players to a 360 degree partnership, which encompasses transfers, boot deals, strategic brand building, media, PR, marketing, digital and commercial partnerships – alignment across all of those fields is key!
'The motivating factor is not a money grab for us. It's about how we partner with athletes in a meaningful way so they can maximise their careers on the pitch and off the pitch, look back at the career and think, "I took advantage of every moment, I cherished my success and now I'm ready for the next chapter. I left my legacy without ever sacrificing my football".'
 
DANIA DIAZ
Diaz is managing director of philanthropy at Roc Nation and as such has played a supporting role in Rashford's efforts to give back to the community in which he grew up. It is significant that half of Roc Nations's 450 global workforce are women and half are from minority backgrounds.
'When a new recruit comes into Roc Nation, members of our philanthropy department are present at the meeting. The recruits actually appreciate the fact that we exist,' says Diaz.
'The big theme across the board for our athletes and their charitable foundations and their charitable passions is to give back to communities in need, and then they sort of take a different approach to it.
'Some may focus on education, whether it's early childhood education or college scholarships; some may really focus their efforts on building safe places where they can play because it was so important to them growing up.'