Barcelona: Marcus McGuane first Englishman to play for club since Gary Lineker

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Marcus McGuaneImage source, Getty Images
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Barcelona have set the buy-out clause in Marcus McGuane's three-year contract at 25m euro (£21.9m)

Teenager Marcus McGuane became the first Englishman to play for Barcelona since Gary Lineker 29 years ago after making a substitute appearance against Espanyol on Wednesday.

Former Arsenal midfielder McGuane, 19, replaced Aleix Vidal in the 77th minute of the Catalan Super Cup.

Barcelona won the friendly 4-2 on penalties after a 0-0 draw.

Lineker was the last English player to represent Barcelona after joining the Spanish club from Everton in 1986.

McGuane signed for Barcelona's reserve team in January after spending more than a decade in Arsenal's youth academy.

He has played four games for Barcelona B, who are 16th in Spain's second tier.

Image source, Twitter
Image caption,

Marcus McGuane's contract was due to run out in the summer and he is reported to have turned down a new deal with Arsenal

McGuane was one of 12 members of the reserve side called up for the meeting with Espanyol at a neutral ground in the Catalan city of Lleida alongside first-team players including Ousmane Dembele, Andre Gomes and Paco Alcacer.

He made only two brief appearances for Arsenal in their Europa League games against Red Star Belgrade and BATE Borisov this season, totalling 12 minutes.

McGuane has represented England at Under-17 and Under-19 level, having switched allegiance from Republic of Ireland.

Image source, Twitter
Image caption,

Gary Lineker won the King's Cup and European Cup Winners' Cup with Barcelona before moving to Tottenham Hotspur in 1989

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