Manchester United loanee Marcus Rashford has made a change during his Barcelona loan spell
Marcus Rashford of Barcelona
Marcus Rashford is currently on loan at Barcelona from Manchester United(Image: George Wood/Getty Images)
View 2 Images
Marcus Rashford has shown his desire to stay at Barcelona through a key change he has made after being punished for lateness. The Manchester United loanee joined the Spanish giants last summer.
The England international expressed his desire to remain with the Catalan club beyond this season. Barcelona have the option to make Rashford’s deal permanent for £26million in the upcoming transfer window.
He has featured on 39 occasions for Hansi Flick’s side, scoring 10 goals and providing 13 assists. However, the 28-year-old was notably dropped from the starting XI for a league game with Getafe in September after arriving late to a team meeting.
HEREHEREHEREHERE.
Rashford had reportedly been two minutes late, leading Flick to enforce his strict punctuality policy, though he did feature in the game as a half-time substitute. The Daily Mail reports that Rashford has sought to avoid repeating the mistake and now arrives 30 minutes early, showing his commitment to Barcelona.
It was not the first time in Rashford’s career that the forward had been dropped to the bench for punctuality reasons. In December 2022, he was named as a substitute by Erik ten Hag before scoring the only goal in a 1-0 win over Wolves.
Explaining the situation to BT Sport after the match, Rahsford said: "Obviously it's team rules. I made a mistake. That can happen. I'm obviously disappointed not to play but I understand the decision and I'm happy we managed to win anyway.
"We draw a line under it and move on. I was a little bit late for a meeting. I overslept but it can happen."
The 2022/23 campaign saw Rashford score 30 goals for United across all competitions. However, the following season, Ten Hag was forced to field questions about Rashford being spotted out in Belfast.
Marcus Rashford warming up as a Manchester United substitute
Rashford was named as a Manchester United substitute after being late for a team meeting in December 2022(Image: Matthew Ashton - AMA/Getty Images)
View 2 Images
The United boss referred to the situation as an “internal matter”, with Rashford being left out of the matchday squad for an FA Cup game against Newport County in January 2024. Ten Hag's successor Ruben Amorim subsequently raised concerns about the forward’s approach to training.
"It's always the same reason - the training, the way I see a footballer should do in life. It's every day, every detail," Amorim said in January 2025.
"If things don't change, I will not change. It's the same situation for every player, if you do the maximum and right things we can use every player."
Rashford fell out of favour under Amorim and last played for United in December 2024. He joined Aston Villa on loan last February before sealing a move to Barcelona in the summer.
Rashford’s willingness to learn from his past mistakes this season is evidence of his desire to remain with Barcelona. In October, when asked if he wished to stay with the Spanish club, Rashford told ESPN: "Oh yeah, for sure. I'm enjoying this football club and I think for anybody who loves football, Barcelona is one of the key clubs in the history of the game. For a player it is an honour."