'I feel like I'm at home' - Rashford joins Barcelona

Marcus Rashford says he feels like he is "at home" at Barcelona after completing a season-long loan move to the La Liga club.

The 27-year-old has joined on an initial 12-month loan from Manchester United, with the Catalan giants having the option of signing the England international on a permanent basis for £30.3m (35m euros) in 2026.

He is the first English player to sign for Barcelona, who won the league and cup double last season, since Gary Lineker in 1986.

Rashford hasn't played for Manchester United, his boyhood club, since last December after being dropped by manager Ruben Amorin, and spent the second half of the 2024-25 season on loan at Aston Villa.

In July, it was confirmed that he was one of five players to tell the club that he wanted to leave.

"I'm very excited," Rashford told Barcelona's YouTube channel. "It's a club where people's dreams come true, they win big prizes.

"What the club stands for means a lot for me. I feel like I'm at home and a big factor in my choice to come here is because it is a family place and a good place for good players to showcase their skills.

"Another factor is because the conversations I had with [Hansi Flick] were positive. What he did last season was terrific. To lead such a young team to a very successful season and come back to pre-season and still want to do more, it shows me everything I thought I knew about the club and it's everything I wished.

"I'm eager to learn the Barcelona way."

Barcelona will cover the entirety of Rashford's wages during his time at the club after the forward agreed to take a pay cut.

Removing Rashford from the wage bill is expected to save United between £14-£15m over the next 12 months.

The England international trained with his new team-mates for the first time on Tuesday and is expected to be included in the squad that travels to Japan for a pre-season tour of Asia on Thursday.

In moving, the forward leaves the Premier League for the first time in his career.

Rashford has scored 138 goals in 426 matches for Manchester United since making his debut for the club in 2016 and won five major trophies.

He is 15th on the club's all-time scorers list, having emerged from United's academy.

How did we get to this point?

Rashford spent the second half of the 2024-25 season at Aston Villa

Rashford's departure from Old Trafford has been a relatively long time coming.

Manager Ruben Amorim dropped him for the Manchester derby on 15 December last year - and he has not played for United since.

Amorim later criticised Rashford for a perceived lack of effort, suggesting that he would rather give a place on the bench to his 63-year-old goalkeeping coach than someone who "doesn't give the maximum every day".

He joined Aston Villa on loan in January, making 17 appearances and earning an England recall, but returned to Old Trafford last month with his long-term future still uncertain.

However, that uncertainty has been more about where he would go rather than whether he would stay, with Rashford one of five players who told the club they wanted to leave - and who were subsequently told to train separately from the rest of the squad.

But Rashford's problems at Old Trafford pre-dated Amorim.

After signing a new five-year deal at the club in 2023 - following a stellar 30-goal season the campaign before - Rashford's form dropped dramatically.

He managed just eight goals in 43 appearances in 2023/24 and was disciplined three times in 13 months by manager Erik ten Hag.

Rashford was dropped for an away trip to Wolves after turning up late for a team meeting, while he then apologised to the Dutchman for attending a pre-arranged birthday party hours after a 3-0 home defeat by Manchester City.

The forward was then dropped for an FA Cup tie against Newport after reporting ill for training after being pictured partying in nightclubs in Belfast.

Despite his prolonged and public fall from grace at Manchester United, Rashford expressed his gratitude and had "nothing bad to say" about the club.

While he alluded to them being in a "period of change", he focused more on his "new chapter" at Barcelona and the opportunity the move presents to win trophies.

Rashford won two FA Cups, two League Cups, and the Europa League with Manchester United but is yet to win a league title or the Champions League.

"[Manchester United] is in a period of change and they have been for a while. I don't have anything bad to say as it has been an important part not just of my career but my life, so I was grateful for the opportunity," Rashford said, speaking to the media following his unveiling.

"I wish them all the best and hope they are successful in the future.

"I want to win the biggest trophies and I feel like Barcelona is a huge club in the football world, so it is the perfect place.

"They have a young, ambitious team and I want to add my qualities, my personality, improve the team, and help them win.

"[The Champions League] is what the club was fighting for last year and they were very close. I hope they can take the next step this year. This is a historic club and they are known for winning the biggest prizes. I am here to help the club do that. It is a dream of mine."

'United cannot worry about optics'

There is no doubt a fully-motivated, focused and determined Marcus Rashford would walk into Ruben Amorim's team.

But, in reality, that Rashford has only been seen for one full season since 2021 and the campaign that led to Ole Gunnar Solskjaer getting sacked.

There were signs of the old Rashford during his half season loan at Villa - but there were also games where he didn't perform so well.

Offloading an unwanted player to Barcelona is bizarre for a club in Manchester United's position. But that is where they are right now. What they have to do is maximise the opportunity.

At Old Trafford, they cannot worry about optics. They have to deliver a squad Amorim can drive up the table.