Manchester United forward, Marcus Rashford, has completed a season-long loan move to Spanish giants, Barcelona earlier today, July 23.
Marcus Rashford, 27, joins the La Liga side on an initial 12-month loan, with Barcelona having the option to make the deal permanent for £30.3 million in 2026.
As part of the agreement, Barcelona will cover the entirety of Rashford’s wages, after the player agreed to take a pay cut. The move is expected to save Manchester United between £14 million and £15 million over the next year.
Rashford trained with his new teammates for the first time on Tuesday and is expected to be included in the squad travelling to Japan on Thursday for Barcelona’s pre-season tour of Asia.
This will be Rashford’s first experience outside the Premier League and his second loan spell since falling out of favour at Manchester United.
He previously spent the second half of last season on loan at Aston Villa, where he made 17 appearances and earned a recall to the England national team.
Rashford has scored 138 goals in 426 appearances for Manchester United since making his debut in 2016. He is currently 15th on the club’s all-time top scorers list.
The move comes after a difficult period for Rashford at Old Trafford. He last featured for United in December after being dropped by manager Ruben Amorim for the Manchester derby on December 15, 2024.
Amorim later criticised the forward for what he described as a lack of commitment, saying he would “rather give a place on the bench to (his) 63-year-old goalkeeping coach than someone who doesn’t give the maximum every day.”
Despite signing a five-year contract extension in 2023 following a 30-goal season, Rashford struggled with form and discipline issues.
He scored only eight goals in 43 appearances during the 2023/2024 season and was disciplined on multiple occasions by former manager Erik ten Hag. The coach was dropped for lateness, attending a party after a loss to Manchester City, and missing training after being seen in nightclubs.
After returning from Aston Villa, Rashford was among a group of five players who told the club they wanted to leave. All five were instructed to train separately from the main squad.
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