See Marcus Rashford take over the iconic Beano

With 20p from each sale donated to his free books scheme

Marcus Rashford stars in the Beano
photo: Beano
Marcus Rashford stars in the Beano
photo: Beano

With 20p from each sale donated to his free books scheme

By Eve Walker29 Jul 2022
2 mins read time
2 mins read time

Marcus Rashford has guest-edited this special edition of Beano, produced in collaboration with NatWest’s Thrive programme. His message? To celebrate “all the things that make us unique”.

The scheme was established in collaboration with the footballer and campaigner, aiming to develop the financial confidence of six to 16-year-olds. Through interactive group workshops and peer-to-peer sessions, the young people were provided with the tools to achieve their full potential.

Rashford appears several times throughout the special edition, joined by popular characters such as the Bash Street Kids and Billy Whizz and appearing on the front cover in comic form wearing a “Beano ed” T-shirt. The comic dropped on 27 July.

In true Rashford fashion, there is a charitable element to the collaboration. For every copy of this edition of Beano sold, 20p will be donated to the Marcus Rashford Book Club in partnership with Macmillan Children’s Books. Currently, the book club has distributed more than 100,000 free books to children across the UK. On top of this, 50,000 copies of Rashford’s debut children’s book, The Breakfast Club Adventures: The Beast Beyond the Fence, will also be given out free to children.

Rashford said he “jumped at the chance” to be involved with the comic.

“Nobody is a success in football without good teammates, and that’s true in life as well. Everybody needs to build a team of allies to have fun with and speak up for what’s important,” he said. “Our voice is strong alone, but when our voices come together, we are powerful. When we fight for things that are important together, we can make progress a lot quicker than by ourselves.”

In the letter he said how the comic “brings together all sorts of different children”.

He continued, “Instead of our differences dividing us, we embrace them here, and we find strength in them.

“Reading is one of my favourite things to do because it lets me dream. I see myself achieving so much more and I’m motivated to give new things a try.”