Marcus Rashford is speaking to journos at the Barca club shop now. We'll bring you the best bits.

Mark Ogden
ESPN senior writer on BBC Radio Manchester's The Devils' Advocate podcast

I thought at the outset that this is the one club Marcus Rashford would be prepared to take a pay cut to join because it's Barcelona and a dream move for him.

"I know he's Barcelona's third choice because they missed out on Nico Williams and Luis Diaz - but he's still a player with a big reputation.

United fans have fallen out of love with Rashford and this is long overdue him leaving. It's a matter of time before it is done and it suits everybody.

It gets him off the wage bill and might free up some money for United to get another player in.

From United's perspective, even if he goes there and has a decent season but they don't sign him, he will come back as a Barcelona player. His value and reputation will remain unless he has an absolute shocker, which I don't think he will.

I don't really see a downside to this from United's perspective.

Pat Nevin
BBC football expert

Manchester United are trying to make ends meet by offloading their so-called "deadwood" but it will not be easy without losing a lot of money.

‌These players are getting blanked by Ruben Amorim. They are not training with the first-team squad and not joining the A team for the pre-season tours.

This treatment is intended to force them out and it often does, but it can have the opposite effect.

The wages alone of Antony, Alejandro Garnacho, Marcus Rashford, Tyrell Malacia and Jadon Sancho are estimated to be about £1m a week. This is a serious drain on resources but the players will not care a jot.

Rashford's £17m-per-year salary may be covered by his loan to Barcelona this season, but remember that this once extremely valuable asset apparently can't now be sold for a cent.

When they feel badly or unfairly treated, footballers are not averse to digging their heels in and refusing to move unless everything suits them perfectly, especially financially.

United have to pay them until they move or their contracts run out, so they are in no rush.

Those players haven't asked to leave so from their perspective it is the club that is breaking the agreed contract, not them.

The argument usually follows: "You don't want me, so why don't you pay up my contract in full and I will leave with a smile on my face?" And a bad back carrying all that dosh no doubt...

These face-offs will be resolved in time but United do not have a strong hand in negotiations. Few other clubs will pay top prices for apparently damaged goods, especially with those huge wages.

Marcus Rashford joined Aston Villa on loan in January, scoring four goals in 17 appearances and earning an England recall.

But the move was not made permanent and Rashford returned to Old Trafford last month.

On returning Rashford was 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.

Andy West
Spanish football writer

Strengthening the left-hand side of the forward line has been Barcelona's priority all summer and, for a long time, it appeared they'd be successful in snapping up their number one target, Nico Williams.

But the Athletic Bilbao winger eventually opted to sign a new contract with his current club, so Barca were forced to look elsewhere, with an attempted move for Liverpool's Luis Diaz also falling through.

Barcelona's long-standing financial problems are still an issue and they were hoping to raise funds by selling goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen, who has been supplanted by new signing Joan Garcia.

But that plan has been foiled by the German veteran requiring back surgery, which means that signing Rashford on loan has become even more enticing.

Barca are conscious that star striker Robert Lewandowski, who turns 37 next month, cannot be expected to start every game. So Rashford's ability to play as a centre-forward or a false nine further adds to his appeal.

His main opportunities, however, will come on the left wing, which has been a problem position for Barca ever since Neymar's departure to Paris St-Germain eight years ago.

In the current squad, Raphinha has been re-invented by coach Hansi Flick as a central playmaker, while Dani Olmo and Ferran Torres are unsuited to the left flank.

So now Rashford has the chance to establish himself alongside Raphinha, Lewandowski and Lamine Yamal in Flick's first-choice front four.

Barcelona president Joan Laporta has been showing Marcus Rashford a model of the new Nou Camp, which isn't actually finished yet.

Marcus Rashford will become the first British player to play for Barcelona since Gary Lineker in 1989.

Marcus McGuane, who joined Huddersfield today from Bristol City incidentally, was at Barca B from 2018 to 2020. He did play in the Catalan Super Cup for Barcelona but that doesn't count.

Marcus Rashford scored 138 goals in 426 appearances for United, having made his debut as an 18-year-old in 2016.

He netted 17 in 62 games for England. And he is still only 27.

But his final game for the club was at Viktoria Plzen in the Europa League on 12 December - and he left for Aston Villa on loan after being bombed out of the team by Ruben Amorim.

Simon Stone
BBC Sport chief football news reporter

Even those inside Old Trafford, who have known for so long there was no chance of a return, no possibility of Ruben Amorim's arm being placed round his shoulders as he was ushered back into the fold, privately wish Marcus Rashford well and hope he makes a success of it at the Nou Camp.

They know the striker needs a spark that will return him to the levels he is capable of and that just wasn't going to happen at the club he supported as a boy and joined as a seven-year-old.

There were flashes of it during his half season on loan at Aston Villa in 2024-25 but the consistency was still missing. Rashford was looking at alternatives anyway but it is not certain Villa manager Unai Emery would have tried to sign the forward permanently, even if the Spaniard's side had qualified for the Champions League.

Barcelona is a completely different level. They are the club Rashford has had at the top of his wishlist for two seasons.

If he cannot be motivated to play alongside Robert Lewandowski or driven by the challenge of lining up with Lamine Yamal, who has emerged as a teenager on an even higher trajectory than Rashford did himself a decade ago, then major questions will be asked about his career as a whole.

"I want to say thank you [to the fans] for the warm welcome. It is a different environment and I am enjoying every minute. It feels like home. We as players appreciate all the support but for a new player the first time in the stadium together is going to be a special moment. I am looking forward to seeing you all and appreciate all the support."

"Another key factor why I'm here is because the conversations I had with him [Hansi Flick] were positive. What he did last season was terrific. In his career he's proved he's one of the top coaches. Tto lead such a young team to a very successful season and come back to pre-season and want to do more...

"To be here is everything I wished and thought. Eager to get going and keep learning the Barcelona way as I go and be ready for the games."

"I'm very excited. It is 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 am at home and a big factor in my choice to come here because it is a family place and a good place for good players to showcase their skills."

"I always try to make decisive actions, fast, dynamic plays. I like good football. I've always been a fan of watching Barcelona play from a young age like most Barcelona fans. It's going to be a joy for me to play here."

Marcus Rashford is speaking to Barcelona media now. We'll bring you the best bits.

Simon Stone
BBC Sport chief football news reporter

Some have asked why Barca would want Rashford in the first place.

Well, stripped back, they have cut a really good deal.

Having tried, and failed, to sign Nico Williams from Athletic Bilbao in the summer, they needed to strengthen their attacking positions. Aside from a now 36-year-old Lewandowski and Lamine Yamal, who is half his age, Hansi Flick only has Brazilian Raphinha and former Manchester City forward Ferran Torres to choose from.

Barcelona knew from past discussions with Rashford's family that the player was keen to join them, as he said earlier this summer in an interview.

The structure of the deal suits Barcelona.

The club's once perilous financial position, though improved, is not perfect - it is unlikely they will be in a position to register Rashford immediately, although that will not stop him from training or playing in non-competitive games.

Against that backdrop, a loan that contains an option, not an obligation, to buy, with the fee set at €35m (£30.3m) represents very good business.

If Rashford does well and gets close to the levels that earned him his current £325,000-a-week contract in the first place, he would be worth far more than the sum Barcelona would have to pay for someone who would then still only be 28.

If he doesn't succeed, they can just send him back to Old Trafford. There wouldn't even be the need for the penalty clause Chelsea had to pay to get out of signing Jadon Sancho this summer.