Marcus Rashford has gone from strength to strength since joining Barcelona, and the Manchester United-owned forward can finally cement his place in the Spanish club’s folklore when he plays against Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu in El Clasico on Sunday.
Rashford moved to Barcelona on a season-long loan deal from Man Utd in the summer of 2025, with sources telling TEAMtalk that last season’s LaLiga winners have the option to make it permanent for €30million (£26m, $35m) next summer.
As reported by TEAMtalk’s transfer correspondent, Fraser Fletcher, at the time, Rashford wanted to move to Barcelona in the middle of last season before his loan switch to Aston Villa.
The England international forward finally realised his dream in the summer of 2025, and he is making the most of it.
Rashford has established himself as a key figure in Hansi Flick’s side and has scored five goals and given six assists in 12 appearances for the defending Spanish champions so far this season.
Barcelona will take on Real Madrid away from home at the Santiago Bernabeu in El Clasico on Sunday afternoon.
The rivalry between Madrid and Barcelona is arguably the biggest in club football, and Rashford will get a taste of it first-hand.
Rashford was struggling to make an impact at Man Utd first under Erik ten Hag and then Ruben Amorim – under the Portuguese, the 27-year-old made only six appearances, scoring three goals in the process – but, according to Sport, he will start in arguably the biggest club football match in the world.
Sport, a Catalan publication, has reported that Flick plans to start Rashford on the left wing in a 4-2-3-1 formation.
Rashford, Fermin Lopez and Lamine Yamal will be the three attacking midfielders and will have Ferran Torres in front of them as the number nine.
Marca, who are Real Madrid-leaning and have close ties with the Spanish giants’ hierarchy, have predicted Federico Valverde to start at right-back, despite Dani Carvajal and Trent Alexander-Arnold returning to training.
Valverde has been linked with a move to Man Utd, but sources have told TEAMtalk’s transfer insider, Dean Jones, that the Uruguay international, who is a midfielder by trade, has no plan whatsoever to swap the Santiago Bernabeu for Old Trafford.
This means that Rashford will be up against Valverde and could have a field day against him, given that the Madrid star is not a natural right-back and has played just 22 matches in that role in his career so far.
For Man Utd fans, it would be a bitter pill to swallow if Rashford, who was accused of not doing enough at his boyhood club, starts against Real Madrid and scores the winner in El Clasico.
However, if Rashford does score and Barcelona win, then it will only enhance his chances of sealing a permanent deal with the Spanish and European giants, meaning that Man Utd will get €30million (£26m, $35m), which will certainly make the Old Trafford faithful happy.
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Do Man Utd regret letting Marcus Rashford go?
While Rashford is banging in the goals for fun and is enjoying himself at Barcelona, Man Utd do not regret letting him leave on loan and have no plans whatsoever of bringing him back next summer.
On the latest episode of Back Pages, produced by Sky Sports News, journalists Henry Winter and Jason Burt gave an insight into Man Utd’s feelings about Rashford.
Winter said: “As Jason says, the fee may be just £26m. That just seems an absolute bargain for Barcelona.
“Does it seem like bad business from Manchester United’s perspective? No, because Manchester United want him out.
“So, I don’t think there’s any particular sort of issue. He doesn’t fit in with the way Ruben Amorim wants to play in that 3-4-3 system.
“I think maybe it’s wages. There were too many issues. And I think he needed to leave.
“I think he also needed to leave the country, as Jason says, [to] experience another culture. And just enjoy playing again.
“I mean, the plan at Barcelona and the Hansi Flick has been a long-term admirer of Rashford, was to sort of slightly ease him in.”
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Latest Barcelona transfer news: Man Utd stance on Lewandowski, Palace raid
Meanwhile, Man Utd co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe has made a firm decision on the prospect of signing Robert Lewandowski next summer when his current contract with Barcelona runs out.
Barcelona have also been told how much they need to pay if they are to sign one of Crystal Palace’s best players.
And finally, Barcelona have joined the race for a red-hot Bundesliga striker.
POLL: How many goals will Marcus Rashford score on loan at Barcelona?