What's going on with Marcus Rashford? How successful Barcelona loan left Man United star at crossroads

What's going on with Marcus Rashford? How successful Barcelona loan left Man United star at crossroads originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

It is a decade since Marcus Rashford burst onto the scene as a teenage sensation at Manchester United.

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Little was known about the 18-year-old forward when he was plucked from United's youth set-up by then-manager Louis van Gaal for a February 2016 Europa League match against Midtjylland.

Rashford responded with two goals in a 5-1 win and repeated the trick three days later in a 3-2 win over Arsenal. When he scored the winner against Manchester City in the derby at the Etihad Stadium in March, there was no doubt a star had been born.

Despite his relative lack of experience, Rashford earned a call-up for England's ill-fated Euro 2016 campaign, scoring on his full international debut in a pre-tournament friendly against Australia.

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Rashford has represented the Three Lions at five major tournaments since and has 19 goals in 78 international caps – his most recent strike coming in a win over Croatia at this summer's World Cup.

For United, he has 138 goals in 426 appearances, placing him 15th on the club's all-time top scorers list.

However, last year's season-long loan spell at Barcelona followed a temporary 2025 stint at Aston Villa, meaning it feels like Rashford is at a career crossroads heading into 2026-27.

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Is Marcus Rashford staying at Man United?

Following his time at the World Cup, Rashford joined up with United for pre-season this week alongside England teammate Kobbie Mainoo.

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He has been assigned squad number 14 for the forthcoming campaign, and it appears to be Michael Carrick's intention to bring him back into the first-team squad.

Carrick was club captain when Rashford made his United debut and was also part of the coaching staff under Jose Mourinho and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.

It therefore feels likely that the United boss will back himself to reintegrate a player of obvious gifts, who fell out of favour with Carrick's predecessor Ruben Amorim.

"I've played with him. I played in the game he made his debut, so we have a history," Carrick said after Saturday's 1–1 draw against Paris Saint-Germain in Gothenburg. "We have got a full squad this week in Dublin. We fly straight there and have a few days where we have the whole group back together. Marcus is part of that."

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United face Leeds in Dublin on Wednesday, a match that might come too soon for Carrick to play a significant part. Next up is a game against AC Milan, now led by Amorim – likely to be a fresh test of Carrick's adeptness when it comes to quieting the surrounding drama around Manchester United.

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Why did Barcelona not sign Marcus Rashford?

Rashford scored 14 goals in 49 appearances across all competitions, although only 26 of those were starts.

Barca had the option to sign Rashford for € 30 million at the end of his loan spell but did not activate the clause, opting instead to sign his England teammate Anthony Gordon from Newcastle for €80m.

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"I'm very grateful to everyone at the club for making my time here such a positive and memorable experience. I've enjoyed every moment and will take many special memories with me," Rashford said in a social media post.

"I wish the club and all its supporters the very best of luck and every success in the season ahead. Visca el Barca."

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Why Marcus Rashford contract, salary is posing a problem

According to multiple reports, Rashford earns in the region of £300,000 per week as a basic wage at United.

For a player of his age, whose career has plateaued over recent years, achieving this salary elsewhere is a big ask.

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Gordon is understood to be on a similar pay packet at Barcelona but is three years younger and widely viewed to be on an upward trajectory, as evidenced by him finishing the World Cup as a starter ahead of Rashford.

Rashford is into the final year of his contract at United. Hitting for this season and earning a new deal or leaving on a free contract next summer are both likely to be far more lucrative outcomes than any transfer before the current window closes.

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