Marcus Rashford is said to have formed a close friendship with Barcelona team-mate Rooney Barzigi after they moved to Spain at the same time. The England international joined Barça on loan from Manchester United in the summer, but Bulge signed him on a permanent deal from Copenhagen.
Rashford has been a key player for Barcelona this season, having already scored five goals and provided six assists in 12 appearances. His form came after a period of slump at Old Trafford, where he scored just 11 goals in 48 Premier League appearances over a season and a half with United before being loaned to Aston Villa.
Barcelona paid an initial fee of less than £2.5 million to sign Barzisi, who was just 19 years old and had starred for Copenhagen in the Danish League and Champions League.
He arrived at the Camp Nou giants in mid-July and Rashford completed his loan deal a week later.
And about his friendship with the British player, the teenager told Bain Sport:
“We were always working out and training together. Everything was new to us, so yes, we’re pretty close. But I mean, the whole team has helped me a lot.”
Bulgi, who made his debut for Sweden earlier this month, also spoke about his relationship with Rashford in an interview with Fotoborskallen in September.
Asked if his best mates at Barcelona were Marc Casado and Rashford, he replied: “Yes, yes, but I’m friends with everyone. It’s a great group.”
“It’s like a family, which I haven’t felt on other teams. Everybody’s really close. A lot of them have grown up and played together since youth football. It’s not like it’s a group of friends who are always together, but they’re all together.”
“But there was a lot going on with Rashford in the beginning, because we were new players. We had played against him before and we lived in the same hotel.”
“We lived next door to each other in a hotel, so it was natural for me to be close to him. Well, he’s a nice guy. He’s very laid-back and calm. He doesn’t say much.”
Rashford and Bulge played in Barça’s 6-1 victory over Olympiakos in the Champions League on Tuesday, with the Catalan giants finishing the third round in ninth place overall. And they will aim to help their team win Sunday’s El Clasico, when Barcelona take on Real Madrid.
