Marcus Rashford is spending the season on loan at Barcelona as his time as a Manchester United player moves closer to coming to an end
Marcus Rashford
Marcus Rashford left Manchester United last summer to join Barcelona on loan(Image: AP Photo/Joan Monfort)
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Marcus Rashford may have moved a step closer to completing a permanent move away from Manchester United. Rashford is currently on loan at Barcelona for the season, having expressed a desire to leave Old Trafford during last summer’s transfer window.
Since moving to the Camp Nou last summer, Rashford has scored eight goals and provided 12 assists for Barcelona and seems to be enjoying his time with the Spanish giants.
United had loaned Rashford to Aston Villa for the second half of last season, too, while Ruben Amorim’s departure as the club’s head coach earlier this month has increased speculation about the England international’s long-term future beyond this season.
Wednesday night saw Barcelona claim a 4-2 victory over Slavia Praha in the Champions League, with Rashford providing the assist for Robert Lewandowski, who netted the club’s fourth goal of the game.
As a result, Barcelona moved a step closer to clinching a top-eight finish in the Champions League, which would see them qualify for the last-16 stage automatically and bypass the play-off round.
Barcelona are ninth in the league phase standings with one match left to play, and are behind eighth-placed Chelsea, as well as Paris Saint-Germain (sixth) and Newcastle (seventh), all of which are only on goal difference.
In the other direction, Barcelona are only ahead of Sporting Lisbon, Manchester City, Atletico Madrid and Atalanta on goal difference, with several clubs still having a chance of finishing in the top eight.
Barcelona have the option of signing Rashford from United this summer for around £26million, but a permanent switch may be dependent on whether the Spanish giants can either raise funds via player sales or prize money from this season.
Rashford getting an assist against Slavia Praha helped Barcelona get a crucial three points, which could go on to help the club progress in the Champions League, and more importantly in Rashford's case - the financial rewards that would accompany it for Barca.
Rashford admitted earlier last month that he would be interested in remaining at Barcelona beyond the length of his loan deal away from United, suggesting that his time at Old Trafford may officially come to an end in the near future.
"Of course what I want is to stay at Barca," Rashford told Spanish news outlet Sport last month.
"It's an end goal, but it's not the reason why I'm training hard and giving it my best. The purpose is to win. Barca is a huge, fantastic club, built to win titles."