Barcelona’s reluctance to pay the agreed fee for Marcus Rashford’s permanent transfer poses a problem for Manchester United as they hope to pursue other deals.
Marcus Rashford remains keen to join Barcelona (Image: David Aliaga/Getty Images)
Manchester United fear Marcus Rashford’s future will not be finalized until after the World Cup, which would seriously disrupt the club’s summer transfer business and Michael Carrick’s plans for next season.
Rashford remains in limbo due to a breakdown in communication between United and Barcelona. Barça had agreed to make this season’s loan contract permanent for a transfer fee of £24 million. However, the Spanish giants have just spent £70m signing Anthony Gordon from Newcastle and are hoping to renegotiate the terms of his contract.
United rejected offers for a further 12-month loan, a lower fee or to split the initial £24m into several installments. United bosses are furious at Barça’s attitude towards negotiations for the England international.
The situation has reached a stage where United are considering turning their backs on the Catalan squad and selling the 28-year-old for another player instead. However, the problem for United is that the transfer fee agreed with Barça is the same as what other clubs are expected to pay.
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Rashford is under contract with the English giants until 2028 on a weekly wage of £325,000. Rashford is understood to have no interest in resuming his career at United.
United co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe remains keen to release him from the club’s wage bill. The club had hoped to sign Rashford permanently in order for Barça to budget for new manager Carrick’s transfer.
A number of clubs, including Arsenal, Chelsea, Newcastle and Tottenham, are monitoring developments closely. However, United are reluctant to sell Rashford to one of England’s main rivals and the forward has no interest in going to either Newcastle or Tottenham.
Marcus Rashford is at a loss ahead of the World Cup (Image: SOPA Images, SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
Meanwhile, Rashford is training independently at Inter Miami in MLS ahead of joining up with England’s World Cup squad as the countdown to the season draws near.
He played 49 games in his debut season at Barcelona, scoring 14 goals and providing 14 assists, and also developed a good relationship with manager Hansi Flick. The German is understood to be keen for Rashford to stay, but the arrival of England team-mate Gordon has further complicated matters.
England will arrive in Florida for a pre-World Cup training camp on Monday. Like many other players, Rashford opted to holiday in North America ahead of camp on the advice of manager Thomas Tuchel. The Three Lions’ first match will be against Croatia in Dallas on June 17, followed by matches against Ghana and Panama.
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