Marcus Rashford has announced he is now engaged to marry his long-time girlfriend, Lucia Loi.
The Manchester United star posted a photograph on his Instagram, revealing how he set the stage for the proposal in Los Angeles.
The pair are seen sharing a kiss in front of a giant heart-shaped arch and a floral bed made of hundreds of white roses, surrounded by fairy lights and numerous column candles.
Rashford, 24, captioned the romantic picture with the date they got engaged, Tuesday 24 May. He also tagged Loi and added a white heart emoji.
The couple began dating when they were still in school, but reportedly split up briefly last February. However, they were back together by January 2022, when Rashford posted a series of photographs of the couple together with the caption: āThrough thick and thin.ā
Rashfordās teammates and other peers in football flooded his post with messages of congratulations and well wishes.
The official Manchester United Instagram account wrote: āSo happy for you both!ā
Manchester United defender Ro-Shaun Williams hinted that he had been there to celebrate the coupleās engagement, commenting: āWhat a night brother.ā
Kidderminster Harriers midfielder Devonte Redmond sent āmassive congratsā to both Rashford and Loi, while fellow Manchester United star James Garner commented with a red heart emoji and added: āCongratulations bro.ā
The Sun quoted a source as saying that Rashford had been planning to propose to Loi āfor a whileā and made sure the occasion was āextremely romanticā.
āLucia has been a big part of Marcusā life since school, offering stability, a sense of belonging, a relatability, and assurance that can be rare to find in this world,ā the source was quoted as saying.
āThis is a very special, welcomed moment for them both and everyone wished them nothing but the best.ā
In 2020, Rashford became an MBE in the Queenās Birthday Honours list after he successfully campaigned for the government to allow more than a million children to claim free school meal vouchers amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
He was awarded the MBE by Prince William at Windsor Castle in November 2021. The footballer said he was āincredibly honoured and humbledā.
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