A WELSH child has written a heartwarming letter to England football star Marcus Rashford following England’s loss at the Euro 2020 final.

Mr Rashford and a number of other England players have been subject to racial abuse on social media following the loss and penalty misses, with a mural dedicated to Mr Rashford also being defaced.

After the result 11 year-old Alfie wrote a letter to Mr Rashford, which the player and anti-poverty campaigner shared on Twitter. He begins by saying that even though he’s from Wales, he still likes England.

“I just wanted to write this letter to say how proud we all are of you and the rest of the squad,” he wrote.

“Coming second may not sound great but it’s amazing. You and your teammates should be proud of yourselves, you are in the first squad to reach a major final in 55 years.”

He continued by saying that while England ultimately did not win the tournament, they had plenty of other wins in the year – including Mr Rashford’s success with campaigning for free school meals to be given to more pupils during the pandemic.

He said: “Of course the world has been paused for over 18 months and it is only starting to catch up but you have been one of those people that have kept us going.”

On the penalty, he said: “You may have missed your penalty but you have had a brilliant tournament. If there was anyone in the world who deserves an MBE it would be you.

“Recently I have been doing my best with my social anxiety (I have it when you feel you’re not enough and all that) so my mum bought me your book and it’s changed me! I couldn’t believe what I was reading, from when I opened it up, I could not put it down.

“I admire you and so should the rest of the world.”

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Mr Rashford shared the letter as part of a response to the Euro final, in which he spoke about having a difficult season and struggling with confidence.

“During the long run-up I was saving myself a bit of time and unfortunately the result was not what I wanted," he said. "I felt as though I had let my teammates down. I’d felt as if I’d let everybody down.”

He went on to say how the penalty has been replaying over in his head and that he is sorry for the miss but will not apologise for who he is.

He also said how the community response in his hometown of Withington and Wythenshawe had him on the verge of tears and thanked fans for the positive messages they had sent him.