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One of English football’s most intriguing transfer sagas took another twist this week, and buried within it is a contractual detail that will raise eyebrows at Anfield.
Marcus Rashford’s season in Spain was, by most measures, a success.
The England forward joined Barcelona on loan on July 23, 2025, contributing double-digit goals and assists during the 2025-26 campaign and rediscovering the form that once made him one of the Premier League’s most feared attackers.
Under Hansi Flick, he looked reborn.
Yet despite that revival, Barcelona allowed their €30 million purchase option to expire without pulling the trigger.
The reasons were not purely about performance.
The signing of Anthony Gordon changed the picture entirely — the Blaugrana no longer viewed the left-wing position as an urgent need, with financial constraints adding further complexity.
Attempts to negotiate a reduced fee or a new loan arrangement came to nothing, meaning Rashford will return to Manchester United after the 2026 World Cup to define his next steps.
New United manager Michael Carrick has already spoken with Rashford about the possibility of remaining at Old Trafford and does not view a return negatively.
United hold all the cards as the 28-year-old remains under contract until 2028.
But with interest from multiple clubs and a player who clearly relished life away from Manchester, the situation is far from settled.
And this is where it gets interesting.
As reported by David Ornstein of The Athletic, a £40 million release clause exists within Rashford’s United contract — one that any club could use to force through a deal.
Any club, that is, with one glaring exception.
The clause is available to all admirers bar local rivals Liverpool and Manchester City, who have been deliberately locked out.
In a transfer market where leverage is everything, United have made sure their two fiercest domestic rivals cannot exploit a cut-price route to one of English football’s most recognisable names.
A number of Premier League clubs have expressed interest, but if Rashford does return to Old Trafford, it is believed his preference would be to honour the remaining 24 months on his deal rather than join an English side.
That inclination, if it holds, reduces the clause’s real-world significance, but its existence, and Liverpool’s explicit exclusion from it, speaks volumes about how United have structured their contractual protections.
Bayern Munich, who have eyes on Rio Ngumoha, remain in the picture, with former United chief scout Mick Brown describing the Bundesliga giants as a “perfect destination” for the forward, and a move to the Continent would sidestep the domestic clause entirely.
The Rashford saga also has a knock-on effect on United’s own recruitment.
Ornstein reports that the club have enquired about West Ham winger Crysencio Summerville, impressing at the Club World Cup despite suffering relegation, with a fee of approximately £50 million expected.
How aggressively United pursue that move will depend, in no small part, on whether Rashford stays or goes.
For Liverpool, the clause is a pointed reminder that even in the fine print of a rival’s contract, old grudges have a way of showing up.