Barcelona are ready to pay full price for Marcus Rashford but only on two conditions, and a trusted reporter has revealed the response at Manchester United.
In an ideal world, Barcelona would simply trigger their €30m / £26m option to buy and sign Rashford outright. That is the outcome Rashford, Hansi Flick and Man Utd all want. The outlier in this seemingly never-ending saga is Barcelona’s hierarchy.
The LaLiga champions are doing everything under the sun except finalise this signing. The reason why is obvious – they believe they can capitalise on Man Utd’s desperation to get Rashford’s £325,000-a-week wages off the books and secure a better deal.
What’s more, Barcelona’s desire to string this one out and wait for Man Utd to cave is being emboldened by the fact they’re spending heavily on other forwards.
Anthony Gordon has arrived for a package totalling €80m. An official bid worth €100m has been lodged for Julian Alvarez, and while it was laughed off by Atletico Madrid, the Argentine wants the move and an improved bid is anticipated.
As such, Rashford’s future is dragging on, and an update from reporter Ben Jacobs has shed light on how it can come to a satisfactory conclusion.
Marcus Rashford to Barcelona latest
When speaking on TheUnitedStand, Jacobs revealed Barca are prepared to pay the full €30m / £26m asking price, but only after a second loan.
They also want the deal which would be triggered in the summer of 2027 to be conditional and based on performance-related incentives.
Failing that, Barcelona have made it clear they would be prepared to sign Rashford outright this summer, but for a reduced fee of €20m / £17.3m.
Per Jacobs, Man Utd have no interest in accepting either of those proposals.
He explained: “Barcelona have told Man Utd two things in the last two or three weeks…
“Number one – they’ll pay €20 million with a different structure.
“Number two – they won’t pay €20 million, they’ll do €30 million but they want a season long loan, and that €30 million to be a conditional obligation to buy, likely triggered by performance-related criteria.
“Man Utd are saying no, it’s €30 million otherwise Rashford is coming back to Man Utd.”
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Jacobs added: “Anthony Gordon’s arrival does not preclude Rashford from joining, but Julian Alvarez AND Gordon would make it very complicated.”
He clarified that statement when saying it would be a financial issue that would complicate Rashford joining too, rather than Barcelona believing Gordon and Alvarez would be enough to complete their overhaul in the final third.
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