Marcus Rashford has enjoyed a positive season at Barcelona but the Manchester United forward still faces an uncertain future beyond the summer transfer window
Marcus Rashford reacts
Marcus Rashford has been linked with a surprise move to Real Madrid (Image: Getty Images)
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Former Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho reportedly wants to block Marcus Rashford's proposed move to Barcelona and reunite with him at Real Madrid instead. The United academy graduate has spent the season on loan at Real's fierce rivals.
The Catalan giants have a £26million purchase option in their loan agreement with United to sign him. Barca have until June 15 to trigger their buy option for Rashford, but there are indications from Spain that the La Liga champions are reluctant to pay the agreed fee and may look to renegotiate it.
And Sport now claim that Mourinho, whose appointment at the Bernabeu is described as an ‘open secret’, will look to bring the 28-year-old to Real. The Portuguese coached Rashford during his time as manager at Old Trafford between 2016 and 2018.
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It is said that Mourinho believes the winger would be a valuable addition to a squad he wants to be deep, competitive, and with two players for every position. It is also claimed that he would try to 'unsettle' Barcelona by signing Rashford.
The England international missed training on Saturday due to what Sport claim to be 'some discomfort.' It was agreed that he would not be risked in Barcelona's game against Real Betis on Saturday with the World Cup on the horizon and he didn't play a part in the match. Rashford is still expected to play next Saturday away at Valencia.
It is unclear whether that would be Rashford's final game for Barca, but the Manchester Evening News understands that United have no plans to reintegrate him back into their first-team.
Barca head coach Hansi Flick has expressed his delight in working with Rashford, but refused to be drawn on discussions over his future at the Camp Nou.
Marcus Rashford of Barcelona
Marcus Rashford has enjoyed his loan spell at Barcelona(Image: NurPhoto, NurPhoto via Getty Images)
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He said: "I'm very happy with Marcus. He has shown his quality and he scored an important goal. I can't say anything about his future, we have to focus on the matches until the end of the season."
Rashford has scored 14 times and provided a further 14 assists in all competitions for Barcelona this season - helping them win La Liga and the Spanish Supercopa.
Speaking to journalists after Barca won the Spanish top-flight title with a win over Real on May 10, he said: "It's really good. I come here to win.
"So this is, I want to win as many things as I can. So, this is one more to add to this.
"Yeah, this team is a wonderful team. They're going to win so much in the future as well. So, to be a part of that would be special. So we will see."