When my 6 year old writes his birthday list and wants a dog and Marcus Rashford as his friend! 😳 I might have once disappointed son. @MarcusRashford pic.twitter.com/Xf3zWbEtbC

— Debbie Gray (@DebthewebGray) October 8, 2020

Young fan Mario had just two wishes for his 6th birthday: a dog, and for Man Utd forward Marcus Rashford to be his friend.

The boy’s mother shared a photo of the wish list on Twitter, lamenting the fact that she might have “one disappointed son”.

https://twitter.com/BBCRadioManc/status/1314605292265648134

However, the tweet went on to receive a lot of attention and eventually came to the notice of Rashford, who replied wishing Mario a happy birthday “from his friend”.

Debbie Gray then filmed her son’s disbelieving reaction as she relayed him the good news, a clip that was picked up by BBC Manchester.

This is actually so sweet. Make sure you wish him a happy birthday for me. Tell him it’s from his friend ♥️

— Marcus Rashford MBE (@MarcusRashford) October 9, 2020