After missing out on Nico Williams and being unable to convince Liverpool to sell Luis Diaz, Barcelona have turned to Man United forward Marcus Rashford. It’s an interesting move for all parties, with plenty of variables that could determine whether it’s a success… or not.
According to everyone’s favourite transfer guru Fabrizio Romano, the move is all but done, and the 27-year-old will be lighting up the Camp Nou next season, with Barcelona paying 100% of his wages.
How this is going to work, considering Barcelona’s on-going issues off the pitch with FFP and La Liga’s 1:1 rule is one thing, how Flick integrates a player who has been far from his best for two years is another. We look at how Rashford would fit in at Barcelona, if they can register him.
Style of play
Rashford came through the Man United youth academy when Sir Alex Ferguson was still very much in power. He grew up playing direct football, an inside forward that loved to cut in off the left and take on a defender to get a cross off or take a shot.
Historically, that’s not how Barcelona have played, but it is something that Flick was happy to embrace in his first season. Both Lamine Yamal and Raphinha were given the freedom to run at defenders while on the counter, rather than play it safe and retain possession.
Both of Barca’s current first choice wingers look to cut inside rather than hug the byline, so, in theory, Rashford won’t look out of place. Whether he’s able to supplant two Ballon d’Or front runners and become a starter is another story.
Rashford’s biggest problem is the end product. Anyone who watched play for Man United and the Aston Villa last season could tell his confidence was gone and his heart wasn’t in it, at times, it felt like he was shooting for the sake of it.
Problems for Barcelona AND Marcus Rashford off the pitch
The Athletic reported that Williams pulled out of the deal with Barcelona because they were unable to offer him a guarantee that he would be registered without issue. It’s an ongoing problem at the club, and they nearly lost Dani Olmo for free last season because of it.
Now, Romano is saying that the La Liga champions will pay 100% of Rashford’s wages, although the England international has been gracious enough to take a 15% pay cut from his reported £300,000 per-week wages at Old Trafford.
This is all very risky business for Barca. La Liga president Javier Tebas has already told them they need to make some serious sales if they want to be able to register new signings for next season, and as of yet, nothing has materialised.
Marc-Andre ter Stegen has reportedly been told to find a new club, although he appears reluctant to do so. If the big German shot stopper was to leave, it would give Barce a little more freedom to move.
Rashford, on the other hand, has his own issues to deal with. He wasn’t bad during his loan spell at Villa, but he wasn’t great either. If his Instagram posts are anything to go by, he looks determined to prove the haters wrong, but it’s starting to feel like it’s now or never for the player once touted as United and England’s future.
Are any Barcelona players under threat?
Given the fact that Yamal and Raphinha ended last season with a combined 95 goal contributions between them across all competitions, Rashford has to be acutely aware he’s coming in as a back-up, at least to start with.
In the case of Raphinha, who plays in Rashford’s preferred position on the left wing, 2024-25 was very much an outlier. There isn’t any evidence that proves he’s capable of providing those types of numbers for two consecutive seasons, so, if he can’t, Rashford might be in with a chance to take his place.
Still, given that the deal has an ‘option’ to buy at the end of 2025-26 rather than an obligation, it may mean Barca only really see Rashford as a stopgap rather than a future regular.
Verdict
Rashford is a lucky boy here. Securing a move to a club like Barcelona after the past couple of seasons he’s had is quite the coup. On paper, it makes a lot of sense, and everyone knows Rashford has the ability to be a real world beater, he’ll just have to take the chances he’s given because there might not be many.