Rashford wants to stay at Barça and rejects Madrid

FC Barcelona

173

Rashford
12.850.000€    -

J1

DL

78

The future of Marcus Rashford at FC Barcelona has taken an important turn and the club is already working to try to retain him following the direct request of Hansi Flick, who wants to keep him within his project. Barça had almost ruled him out due to price, but the performance and fit of the Englishman have completely changed the plan.

Although initially the club valued younger profiles, Flick has not found convincing alternatives and Rashford has become a priority. The forward would stay on the team to fight for a starting spot, although he would begin with a substitute role. Even so, his commitment has been total: he is willing to fit his salary into Barça's limit, accept a longer contract, and even spread payments and forgive part of his salary to facilitate the deal.

The big problem remains the agreement with Manchester United, who do not want to budge from the 30 million euros agreed upon for the purchase option. At Old Trafford they are very firm: they do not consider discounts or extending the loan, and believe that the amount is already below the real value of the player, besides offering payment facilities over three years. Even so, they are also considering external offers, although the player's stance complicates everything.

Because Rashford has made one thing very clear: he does not want to return to Manchester and only considers staying at Barça. That decision blocks many alternatives for United, which finds itself in an uncomfortable situation, although it maintains its negotiating position. The two clubs seem condemned to come to an agreement.

In this context, Barça is studying several options. One of them involves lowering the transfer fee, but the option gaining the most traction is a loan with an obligation to buy at the end of the season, adjusting the price according to the player's contractual situation. This would allow the blaugrana club to buy time and reduce economic impact, while United secures the definitive sale in the future and Rashford stays where he wants to be.

On the other hand, in recent hours there had also been talk of a possible move driven by José Mourinho to take him to Real Madrid. However, the player's surroundings assure that Rashford does not want to hear offers from Madrid. His priority is to continue wearing blaugrana and he would have communicated this to his agents. Mourinho saw Rashford as an ideal piece to revolutionize the white attack and send a strong message to the eternal rival, something he did not achieve,  he bet heavily and did not reach his goal, albeit without being on the bench, for now.