Barcelona manager Hansi Flick appears set to take the exact opposite approach to Ruben Amorim when it comes to one key decision around England star Marcus Rashford.
Marcus Rashford linked up with Barcelona this summer and the 27-year-old former Aston Villa ace has had the opportunity to play under Hansi Flick in pre-season.
The Manchester United loanee returned to Old Trafford in the summer after his loan deal at Villa Park expired in June, with Aston Villa not signing Rashford permanently.
Rashford was left out of Ruben Amorim’s plans for the pre-season campaign and the United star trained alone at the Carrington complex ahead of his move to the Camp Nou.
Barcelona signed Rashford on a 12-month loan deal and the Spanish champions are covering his mammoth United wages, with the England star even taking a pay cut.
The La Liga outfit have the opportunity to make Rashford’s transfer to the Camp Nou permanent in 2026, with United including a £30.3m (€35m) buy option.
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Manchester United and England player Marcus Rashford looks on during the pre-season friendly between Vissel Kobe and FC Barcelona at the Noevir Stadium Kobe in 2025 in Kobe, Japan.
Photo by Koji Watanabe/Getty Images
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Hansi Flick to make the big Barcelona call with Marcus Rashford and Man Utd manager Ruben Amorim will know what is next
Hansi Flick spoke about Marcus Rashford after he scored for the first time for Barcelona vs Daegu FC, with the Manchester United star playing down the middle.
Rashford replaced Barcelona striker Robert Lewandowski at half-time and the Three Lions international made his presence felt in the 5-0 win at the Daegu Stadium.
Flick has been able to rotate the United loanee on the left wing with Barcelona star Raphinha, but it seems that the 60-year-old German coach now has a new plan.
According to Diario AS, a hamstring problem for former Bayern Munich star Robert Lewandowski has meant that Flick will play Rashford down the middle again.
Barcelona’s official website on Friday confirmed that the 36-year-old Polish striker would be unavailable for Sunday’s Joan Gamper Trophy match against Como.
Spanish newspaper now believes that Rashford will act as an ‘emergency’ number nine for Barcelona boss Flick while Lewandowski recovers from his injury setback.
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Ruben Amorim is about to be proven right about Marcus Rashford when Hansi Flick uses the Man Utd star as a Barcelona striker
Ruben Amorim is all too familiar with the result of playing Rashford as a striker, with the Barcelona star playing in the role for the United manager’s first match in charge at the Red Devils.
Rashford had an immediate impact for United against Ipswich Town last November after he found the back of the net in the first two minutes of the Premier League tie.
However, the England forward’s influence waned as the match went on before United manager Amorim withdrew him for Rasmus Hojlund in the second half.
Speaking after United’s 1-1 result against Ipswich Town in 2024, Amorim made it clear that the striker role was not the best position for Rashford on the pitch.
“I will try to help him,” he said at the time, as per The Daily Mirror.
“That position is not the best one for him, especially in a game like that [Ipswich].
“We had to kick with high pressure, we had to kick the ball so many times and it was like he was fighting with two giants.”
Sir Alex Ferguson and Jose Mourinho’s feelings on Rashford as a striker have been made clear and Flick is about to learn an important lesson from United boss Amorim.