Marcus Rashford is in Barcelona to complete his loan move to the Spanish giants. British media reports also state that the England forward has also completed his medical on Monday morning, which means that the move is all but officially confirmed. The 27-year-old’s career had pretty much stalled last season at Manchester United, with whom he has been since his childhood. A breakdown in his relationship with manager Ruben Amorim had led to him being left on the bench on a number of occassions and eventually being loaned out to Aston Villa in the second half of the season.
The move to Barcelona is another chance for Rashford to revive his career. He was considered one of the foremost young talents in Europe at the time that he broke out of seemingly nowhere under Louis Van Gaal’s stewardship in 2016. Spanish media said the one-year loan agreement with United would give Barcelona an option to buy Rashford for about 30 million euros ($35 million).
Barcelona had the best attack in Spanish football and one of the most prolific across Europe last season, but had been trying to add another piece to the frontline to go along with young star Lamine Yamal, Raphinha and veteran Robert Lewandowski.
Rashford has scored 138 goals in 429 appearances and won five trophies, including two FA Cups and the Europa League. With his career coinciding with Manchester United’s fall since the retirement of Alex Ferguson in 2013, Rashford has never really come close to winning the English Premier League or the Champions League. He also struggled to consistently live up to the hype that surrounded him when he burst onto the scene as a teenager in 2016 – only managing 20 goals or more in three seasons. In his last two seasons at United he scored a combined 15 goals and added another four in 17 games on loan at Villa.
Barcelona won the Spanish league title with 102 goals, 24 more than runner-up Real Madrid. The Catalan club also led the Champions League in goals with 43, five more than champion Paris Saint-Germain, before being eliminated by Inter Milan in the semifinals.
© IE Online Media Services Pvt Ltd
