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Barcelona's reported pursuit of Marcus Rashford has suffered a major setback as Manchester United are keen on selling the Englishman permanently. Meanwhile, La Blaugrana remain firm in their stance of a loan move, according to Sport.
The Manchester United academy graduate is seemingly nearing a departure from Old Trafford. He was left out by Ruben Amorim for consecutive matchdays, including the Manchester derby, in December 2024. The Englishman later joined Aston Villa on a short-term loan deal in the winter window.
In his 17 appearances for Aston Villa across all competitions, Rashford scored four goals and provided six assists. However, he suffered an early end to the season with a hamstring injury against Manchester City on April 23.
The Villans reportedly have the option to make the move permanent for a fee of £40 million. However, after they failed to secure Champions League football, the move seems unlikely.
According to La Blaugrana's sporting director, Deco, the LaLiga champions have Rashford and Liverpool's Luis Diaz on their radar. According to the aforementioned report (via Manchester Evening News), Rashford's brother, Dwaine Maynard, held talks with Deco, and Barcelona are not willing to meet United's asking price for the Englishman.
As a result, La Blaugrana are interested in initiating a loan deal. Meanwhile, Manchester United are refusing to negotiate anything other than a permanent transfer.
Barcelona star Raphinha makes bold claim for potential summer signings
Raphinha has claimed that any new attacker at La Blaugrana would have to work harder than him. Barcelona are linked with Marcus Rashford and Luis Diaz in the summer transfer window.
The Brazilian attacker was close to leaving the LaLiga giants last summer; however, he remained and enjoyed a spectacular season, where Hansi Flick's side completed the domestic treble.
The 28-year-old also penned a new contract with the LaLiga champions last month, which will keep him with the Catalan club until the summer of 2028. When asked about Marcus Rashford or Luis Diaz competing with him for spots in the starting line-up, the Brazilian attacker told Mundo Deportivo (via ESPN):
"I don't mind. After the season, I don't say I am a guaranteed starter or will never miss a game, but whoever comes in will have to work harder than me. For me, the important thing is that whoever is here or signs, works hard and helps the team. It's important to have a lot of top, committed players."
In the 2024-25 campaign, Raphinha also stepped up as La Blaugrana's captain in some games. The Brazilian attacker played 57 games last season, bagging 34 goals and providing 25 assists.
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Shashank is a journalist at Sportskeeda covering European football since the past 2 years. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Journalism and Mass Communication and has also played the sport as a box-to-box midfielder and a full-back at national level, along with Tennis, Taekwondo and Boxing.
Shashank has been a Liverpool supporter since 2014 and had first stumbled upon the club after receiving a gift which had the words 'Liverpool FC' written on it. He has idolised Steven Gerrard over the years but his favorite football memory is the Reds' incredible comeback 4-0 win over Barcelona in the 2019 Champions League semis. He, unsurprisingly, also loves Jurgen Klopp's managerial style.
He strives to report 100% accurate content by going through several social media platforms, and prides himself on his above-average vocabulary and researching skills. In his career so far, Shashank has had the privilege of interviewing Indian national football team goalkeeper Gurpreet Singh Sandhu.
Shashank also follows the Indian Super League and the Eredivisie along with European Football. In his off time, he likes to do theatre, watch Tennis, and travel.
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Edited by Sankalp Srivastava