Marcus Rashford may be playing for Barcelona at the moment, but the Red Devils are still on the Manchester United academy graduate’s mind.
Marcus Rashford sends a message to Manchester United (Image: Ion Alcoba Beitia, Getty Images)
Marcus Rashford has celebrated on social media after his former club Manchester United qualified for next season’s Champions League. Michael Carrick’s side defeated Liverpool 3-2 on Sunday to secure the Red Devils’ return to European football’s premier competition.
United have not played in the Champions League since Erik ten Hag’s second season in charge and were unable to take part in a controversial new reorganization. However, the win against strong rivals was enough to secure a top five finish.
Meanwhile, Rashford is closing in on his first league title as a Barcelona player. Despite this, he revealed that his childhood club is still in his thoughts.
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After a member of United’s social media team posted a video to commemorate the club’s return to the Champions League, Rashford reshared it on X (formerly Twitter), writing: “Congratulations” with a red love heart emoji. The gesture highlighted how the England international continues to keep a close eye on his former club and team-mates.
There remains considerable uncertainty regarding his long-term future at Old Trafford. It is understood Rashford’s desire is to remain at Camp Nou, but there are also numerous reports suggesting Barcelona are reluctant to pay the £26m clause required to sign him permanently.
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United are unlikely to settle for a reduced transfer fee for Rashford, but Sky Germany also claims the Spanish giants want to take him on loan for a further season. Rashford ran a strong campaign in Catalonia.
Across all competitions, he played 46 games and recorded 13 goals and 14 assists. It was a great return considering most of his appearances came as a substitute. In April, Barça head coach Hansi Flick expressed his delight at Rashford’s progress, saying: “I’m very happy with Marcus.
“He showed his quality and scored an important goal. I can’t say anything about his future, but we have to focus on the game until the end of the season.”
However, in the same month, Carrick appeared to be leaving the door slightly open for Rashford in case he chose to return to the club. The former United midfielder said: “Decisions have to be made on certain things and obviously Marcus is in that situation.”
“But nothing is set in stone at the moment. I’m sure it will happen at some point, but I have nothing to say at this stage.”
Michael Carrick guides Manchester United to Champions League qualification with three games remaining (Image: Visionhaus/Getty Images)
At Barcelona, Rashford and his colleagues are one win away from winning the La Liga title. With four games remaining, they are 11 points behind rivals Real Madrid.
Meanwhile, United are just one win away from securing third place at the end of the season, which would be their highest league position since Erik ten Hag’s debut season in 2021-22.
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