Rashford’s Rebirth at FC Barcelona: A New Chapter in His Career
FC Barcelona’s coach, Hansi Flick, has closely followed Marcus Rashford’s career since his beginnings at Manchester United. When the opportunity arose to sign the English striker on loan this summer, Flick’s message to the sports director, Deco, was clear: “We have to do it. Marcus is an exceptional player, exactly what we needed”.
The initial plan was to integrate Rashford gradually, allowing him to adapt to life in a new country and learn the mechanisms that the Barça coach desired. However, a series of injuries in attacking positions have pushed him to take on a leading role in the Spanish champion team. With 11 matches played in all competitions, Rashford is one of the four players who have participated in every match, along with Pedri, Eric García and Jules Koundé. With three goals and four assists, he leads Barça in goal contributions, in what is the most important week of the season so far. The Barça hosts Olympiacos in the UEFA Champions League on Tuesday, needing a win to recover from the defeat against Paris Saint-Germain. Rashford will have his first taste of El Clásico when Barça visits Real Madrid next Sunday, two points behind the LaLiga leaders. The transfer of Rashford to Barcelona dates back to conversations with his agent, his brother Dwaine Maynard, a year ago, although financial problems prevented it from materializing earlier. Finally, Rashford arrived on loan from Aston Villa, after being sidelined by the new United coach, Ruben Amorim. The interest of Barça persisted, but other options arose in the summer. Deco wanted to sign Luis Díaz from Liverpool, who finally joined Bayern Munich, while Nico Williams from Athletic Club was also a target before renewing his contract in Bilbao. The Rashford option became the most economically viable, and Flick pushed for the deal to be closed. To secure the signing, help was enlisted from Spanish agents and a law firm that works for Manchester City, United’s rival, to finalize the details.
