Barcelona coach Hansi Flick has followed Marcus Rashford‘s career closely, dating way back to his emergence as a teenager at Manchester United. When the chance to sign the England forward on loan was put on the table this past summer, Flick’s message to sporting director Deco was a simple one: “I told him we have to do it. Marcus is an outstanding player, exactly what we needed.”
The plan was to ease Rashford in slowly, let him settle into life in a new country and slowly learn the mechanisms of what the Barça coach wants from him, but a series of injuries across the attacking positions have instead thrust him into a major role for the Spanish champions.
With 11 games played in all competitions, Rashford is one of just four players to have featured in every match — the other three are Pedri, Eric García and Jules Koundé. With three goals and four assists, he leads Barça in goal contributions heading into the team’s biggest week of the season so far.
Barça welcome Olympiacos in the UEFA Champions League on Tuesday, needing a win to bounce back from defeat to Paris Saint-Germain last time out; Rashford will then get his first taste of El Clásico when Barça travel to Real Madrid next Sunday two points adrift of the early LaLiga leaders.
ESPN spoke to people connected to Barça’s first team and Rashford ahead of those two huge games about how his move to Catalonia has seemingly, for now at least, reinvigorated his career.
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How Rashford ended up at Barcelona
Barça have scouting reports on Rashford dating back years, but sources say the foundations for his loan move from United were laid around a year ago. It was then that talks between the club and the player’s agent, his brother, Dwaine Maynard, first progressed.
Those negotiations were regarding a January deal, but with Barça fighting to confirm Dani Olmo‘s registration at the time, finances did not allow for any other additions. Rashford eventually joined Aston Villa on a loan deal after being frozen out by the new United coach Ruben Amorim.
Barça’s interest remained, sources add, but by the summer there were other options. Deco was keen to sign Liverpool‘s Luis Díaz, who eventually joined Bayern Munich, while Athletic Club‘s Nico Williams was also a target before he extended his contract in Bilbao.
Sources detail two key reasons behind Barça turning their attention back to Rashford. Firstly, despite commanding a massive salary — even while taking a 15% cut on his sizeable United paycheck — it was the most financially viable option. Secondly, Flick pushed hard for the club to do the deal.
That did not make it easy. And it took many hands to get the signing done. Spanish agents Arturo Canales and Fernando Solanas were drafted in as intermediaries, while a law firm who, curiously, do a lot of work for United’s rivals Manchester City, were also hired to help iron out the final details of the various agreements.
Steve Nicol and Craig Burley react to Marcus Rashford’s comments about his time at Manchester United.
Rashford had been waiting patiently. Sources say club officials were impressed with how steadfast he was in his desire to play for Barça, alluding to club legend Johan Cruyff’s famous comment: “If you have second thoughts on playing for Barcelona, you are no longer of service to us.”
Those same sources say Rashford was certainly not in that bracket. They acknowledged a move to Barça after his ups and downs at United may represent a move some felt he didn’t deserve, but claimed it would have been less stressful and more financially rewarding for him to pursue other opportunities.
They viewed an interview he did with xBuyer, a YouTube channel well-known in Spain but not in English language markets, as a modern day come-and-get-me plea as he spoke about a desire to play for Barça and offered praise for teenage sensation Lamine Yamal.
Eventually, with Flick wanting the deal done as early as possible in preseason, Canales and Solanas offering a hand and United accepting a loan deal with a €30 million option to make the move permanent, Rashford became the first Englishman since Gary Lineker to sign for the Barça men’s first team.
Rashford hits the ground running
Rashford is enjoying his first months in Spain. He has taken up residence in an urbanization in the mountains, just north of the seaside town of Castelldefels but technically belonging to Gavà. In 10 minutes, he can be down on the beach, while he has been spotted regularly playing pàdel with friends and even fishing.
But it’s 20 minutes up the C-32 motorway where he’s happiest, at Barça’s Ciutat Esportiva Joan Gamper training base. Sources say teammates were surprised by his humility and timidness at first, given his standing in the game, but he has quickly found his place inside the dressing room.
He is learning Spanish, but it is not as essential to a quick acclimatization as it would have been at Barça a decade ago. There are now many English speakers in the squad — including Robert Lewandowski, Frenkie de Jong and Andreas Christensen — and Flick and his predominantly German coaching staff offer instructions in English.
Sources say Rashford, who turns 28 next week and should be in the peak years of his career, has been able to gel with veterans Lewandowski and Wojciech Szczesny at the same time as relating with the pack of young players, led by Yamal, quickly picking up some of the local lingo to avoid being left out of the banter.
He told newspaper Diario Sport one of the first words he learned was chuche, meaning sweet or candy. “Soy tu papa, chuche,” — “I’m your daddy, sweetie” — is one of Yamal’s favorite friendly taunts after humiliating teammates on the training ground with Spain and Barça.
“Rashford is a spectacular player,” defender Ronald Araújo told ESPN. “He’s happy. We’ve spoken before about that, the confidence, the happiness [players need] and he’s happy here in Barcelona.
“The team took to him really quickly when he arrived. You can see that on the pitch. He has quality, skills, he’s quick, so explosive … he gives us a lot. We’re happy he’s here with us.”
Injuries have accelerated the showcasing of those attributes. With Yamal, Raphinha, Lewandowski, Ferran Torres, Fermín López and Olmo all missing stretches of the campaign so far, Rashford, initially expected to be a backup player, has been Barça’s only ever-present forward in their 11 games this season.
Primarily playing on the left, where he says he prefers to play, he has also featured through the middle, where some sources speculate his long-term future at the club could be if he wants to stay beyond this year — if not, he may find himself competing with Raphinha for a left-wing berth rather than a 37-year-old Lewandowski who is out of contract next summer.
Sources say Rashford was a little “lost” tactically at first, but that he is a quick learner. He has taken on board what Flick wants from him, benefiting from the coach’s direct and succinct instructions. Flick doesn’t like to confuse players with too much information; he wants Rashford to be direct and run at players. The England international is averaging 5.97 take-ons per 90 minutes this season, but the Barça boss would like to see that increase if possible — it is higher than Raphinha’s 3.61, but a long way short of the 13.22 Yamal averages per 90 on the other flank.
Rashford’s best night came in Newcastle, when he scored two stunning goals in the 2-1 Champions League win, but if there is one complaint it is that he could score more — the only other goal he scored was in this month’s 4-1 defeat to Sevilla.
There have been other times when he has come close, denied by good saves or the woodwork, but it is an area where sources say Barça want to see an improvement. He smashed the bar with a free kick in last weekend’s 2-1 win against Girona; it was one of three free kicks he took in the Catalan derby and sources pointed out the significance in him being handed the responsibility of taking set plays so soon by the coaching staff and how it has been accepted by his peers.
He has also taken more corners than any other Barça player this season — 37, ahead of Raphinha’s 13 in second — with Flick banking on his quality to set up goals. And he has created eight chances from dead-ball situations so far.
Marcus Rashford hits the frame
However, Rashford’s quality with the ball is not where the work on the training ground has been centered. Flick called his Newcastle brace the “first step” and said that the next step would see him evolve off the ball.
“Our style, how we want to play, is focused on high intensity and this is what I want to see also from him,” he said.
Rashford has shown improvements in that sense when compared to last season. Across games with United and Villa in the Premier League, he was averaging 18.9 sprints per game, according to Stats Perform. This season, in the Spanish top flight, per LaLiga Football Intelligence, that figure has increased to 34.9. He is also covering over 630 meters at a speed north of 21km/h per 90 minutes, up from 122 meters in the Premier League last term.
However, those numbers are still a long way short of Raphinha, who Flick considers the flagbearer for Barça’s pressing game, which is essential if the team’s high line is to avoid being picked off. This season the Brazilian is averaging 45.3 sprints per 90 and covering over 810 meters at a speed greater than 21km/h. Torres’ numbers are also slightly higher than Rashford’s, while Yamal’s are lower.
It is unfair to read too much into that just yet, though. Barça are struggling to match the pressing energy they had in Flick’s first season. Raphinha’s numbers were much higher — 59.4 sprints per game and 1.1km covered per 90 minutes at over 21km/h — while Torres and Yamal’s numbers are also significantly down.
Sources say the data paints a picture of a Barça team still striving to find its best level. With the change in personnel week after week due to injuries, it has made it hard to completely gauge Rashford’s fit in this side. The signs are promising, though. He looks dangerous with the ball, although he could add more goals, and has improved without it, even if there is still considered to be a long way to go.
“I think it’s been good, it’s been smooth,” Rashford told ESPN. “For sure in the future we will of course improve. I am looking forward to this. My focus is on the pitch, to match well with the team and to improve my individual performance.
“We have to show [intensity] going forward and continue to prove to the coach that we are a team that wants to win and wants to be successful. I want to win as much as possible, hopefully lift trophies with this club and add to the history that they already have.”
What’s next for Rashford? Could he stay beyond this summer?
Rashford’s Barça future will not be decided against Olympiacos or even against Madrid. It will be decided over the course of the season. It will be decided by how much he can offer in the spring when Barça hope to be competing for every major trophy. This past season, they won LaLiga, the Copa del Rey and Spanish Supercopa, falling only in the Champions League semifinal. There is only one way they can go better this time round.
From there, a decision will be made on Rashford. But, as is the case at Barça in most situations, it will not be straightforward. Firstly, because there will be a presidential election next year. Current president Joan Laporta is expected to run again and is the early favorite to remain in charge. However, he will face competition, and candidates often run on promises of big signings; Laporta himself might even make claims of new arrivals next summer.
If wannabe presidents are pledging to spend €100 million on Player X, where would that leave the €30 million needed to land Rashford given Barça’s delicate relationship with LaLiga’s financial fair play rules?
Some sources inside the club, though, are already sold on the fee, classifying €30 million needed to sign Rashford as a “no-brainer.” The reality is it will depend on performances, finances, elections and many other factors, such as what other options come up and who the coach and sporting director are — nothing is guaranteed in soccer. The only thing for certain is that if Barça don’t end up signing him, they will not have to pay United any fine, as Chelsea did with Jadon Sancho.
“There’s no penalty clause in the loan agreement if we don’t sign him,” Deco confirmed earlier this year. “We do have an option to make it permanent if we want to. It’s too early to talk about decisions for next season; what matters is that we’re happy with him.”