Marcus Rashford's Manchester United career looks to be coming to an end, with a move inevitable this month.
The academy product has played 426 times for the Red Devils since breaking into the team under Louis van Gaal in 2016 with a brace on his Premier League debut against Arsenal. With new manager Ruben Amorim freezing him out of the team, however, Rashford doesn't look like playing for the club again, with transfer expert Ben Jacobs telling FourFourTwo exclusively that the forward's absence from the first team is due to his value as an asset.
“He's been frozen out for now: some of that is down to Ruben Amorim, but some of it is also down to the fact that a departure is realistic,” Jacobs said on January 13. “The hierarchy at Manchester United want to make sure that if somebody wants him, there's no possibility that he plays a few minutes and picks up an injury. So there is that sort of ‘asset protection’ aspect to this as well.”
Marcus Rashford wants to leave Manchester United for Barcelona
Rashford was heavily linked with a move to Milan but two factors have scuppered any such deal to the Rossoneri.
Kyle Walker's potential transfer there would mean that a second English player signing for the club would be in breach of a Brexit law – while Noah Okafor's move to RB Leipzig collapsing means Milan need to sort outgoings before bringing in a new forward.
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Spanish publication Sport reports that Rashford is pushing for a move to Barcelona.
Atletico Madrid have been leading La Liga this season, with the Blaugrana struggling whenever Lamine Yamal – who is 13/2 to win the 2025 Ballon d'Or – doesn't play. Barça president Joan Laporta has confirmed that the club is “back to the 1:1 rule” and can “now sign players with normal process”, with Dani Olmo's registration issue now cleared up.
According to Mundo Deportivo in 2022, Rashford has already agreed a contract with Barcelona before, with a 2018 permanent deal mooted. The forward remained at Old Trafford and ended up taking the No.10 shirt – though now looks certain to leave, probably on loan with a view to leaving for good in the summer.
FourFourTwo understands that Barcelona is the dream move for Rashford – but signing him won't be easy this month.
The Catalan outfit are believed to be focussing on the contract extensions of Spanish superstars Gavi and Pedri – ranked at no.9 and no.1 respectively in FourFourTwo's list of the best central midfielders in the world right now – before any incomings this month.
Rashford is worth €55 million, according to Transfermarkt. United take on Brighton this weekend when Premier League action returns.
