Rashford could have joined Barça in January, but problems with the salary cap and the lack of urgent need to strengthen the attack scuppered the deal, and the Manchester United player ended up at Aston Villa. However, the player’s desire to wear the Barça shirt is still as strong as ever, and he is willing to force his departure and do whatever it takes to become a new FC Barcelona player.
The salary cap halted his arrival in January
Barça has been struggling with financial problems for several seasons, which has led to several unusual situations, such as that of Dani Olmo and Pau Víctor, who needed a precautionary measure to be registered. Marcus Rashford could have fulfilled his dream of becoming a Barça player in January. The English international was set to leave Manchester United and offered himself to the Blaugrana club on loan, but Barcelona’s limited budget was used to secure renewals for forwards Lamine, Raphinha, Lewandowski, and even Ferran Torres, who were all performing at the highest level.
The salary cap is the main problem with names such as Rashford and Jonathan Tah, who have expressed their interest in joining Camp Nou on multiple occasions, but there has been no room to register them. In the case of the striker, the option of a loan was considered but could not be finalized, and the player ended up having to look for another way out of Manchester, where he had no place. Now, the player has offered formulas to try to make his arrival happen in the summer transfer window
Rashford’s plans
As reported by the newspaper Sport, the striker is willing to accept a considerable reduction in his salary to land in Barcelona. In addition, the striker has put himself in the hands of agent Pini Zahavi to get his move to Barça on track, as he is the agent of Robert Lewandowski and Hansi Flick and therefore has a good relationship with the Catalan club.
The player has a plan in mind to get to Barcelona, according to the aforementioned source. In addition to a considerable reduction in his salary, the player would like to try to force a loan for one season with an option to buy. However, his club, Manchester United, is very clear that it wants to get rid of the player permanently and in the form of a transfer. The English club is asking for around €40 million.
Barça has other options
Barcelona has not made any decision regarding the player because they are considering other options on the market, as well as the possibility of staying as they are in attack with Lewandowski, who is still in good shape despite his age, and Ferran Torres, who has more than proven that he is not just a plan B, as he has more than filled the gap during the Polish striker’s injury.
The Foios native has already put himself forward on multiple occasions to be the future striker for Barça, which also has Dani Olmo, who can also play as a false 9. While it is true that the club is expected to lose attacking players such as Ansu Fati and Pau Víctor in the summer, there are less complicated and more affordable options on the market to strengthen the attack with a player who would also likely come in as a substitute.