Footballer Marcus Rashford spotted wearing a Richard Mille

Marcus Rashford, the Manchester United and England forward, was recently spotted wearing the Richard Mille RM 35-03 'Rafael Nadal' Automatic in white quartz TPT and carbon TPT — a watch that sits at the intersection of motorsport-grade materials engineering and haute horlogerie.

Launched in 2021, the RM 35-03 is the fourth watch born from Richard Mille's long-standing partnership with Rafael Nadal, a collaboration that began in 2010 and has consistently pushed the boundaries of what a wristwatch can endure under extreme athletic stress. Where earlier Nadal references relied on manual winding, the RM 35-03 marks a significant evolution: it is the first automatic in the series. The case itself is a study in advanced composites — white quartz TPT is produced by stacking silica filaments in layers rotated at 45-degree intervals before being impregnated with resin, yielding a marble-like surface that is simultaneously ultralight and resistant to deformation. Carbon TPT follows a similar lamination logic, producing a darker, fibre-grain aesthetic. The combination gives the RM 35-03 its instantly recognisable two-tone architecture.

The movement inside is the caliber RMAL1, and its headline feature is the patented butterfly rotor — a bidirectional winding mechanism split into two independently configurable half-rotors. The wearer, or a watchmaker, can reposition each half to adjust the effective mass and arc of the rotor, directly varying winding efficiency. It is a practical solution dressed as a technical showpiece, and it works. Power reserve sits at approximately 55 hours, with the movement beating at 28,800 vph.

From a collector standpoint, the RM 35-03 occupies a sweet spot in the Richard Mille catalogue. It carries the prestige of the Nadal name, a narrative of genuine athletic provenance, and the novelty of automatic winding in a line previously dominated by manual calibers. Production volumes remain tightly controlled, which sustains demand well above retail.

Rashford's affinity for Richard Mille is well documented — the footballer has been seen in multiple references from the brand. At a retail price of $220,000 and a grey-market valuation pushing considerably higher, the RM 35-03 is a statement that requires no translation in professional sport's watch-fluent locker rooms.