Marcus Rashford to Barcelona: Manchester United to get a call if Nico Williams deal collapses?

Nico Williams remains the priority for Hansi Flick's Barcelona ahead of the upcoming La Liga season, but that does not mean Marcus Rashford cannot join the Catalans, according to reports. The German manager is convinced that an experienced campaigner of Rashford’s stature got room in his squad as they prepare to defend the league title against a new-look Real Madrid under Xabi Alonso.

 

Barcelona have prepared a loan move for Marcus Rashford — a strategy similar to that used by Aston Villa in the second half of the just-concluded campaign. Among the reasons is the fact that Barcelona, like many other European clubs, are in no position to match the wage demands of the 27-year-old English international. Homegrown talent Rashford is one of the highest earners at Manchester United — earning more than £350,000 a week.

 

A fallout with manager Ruben Amorim means Rashford’s time at Old Trafford is almost over. By joining Unai Emery’s team in the second half of the 2024–25 campaign, Rashford managed four goals and six assists in 17 appearances to remain in peak condition.

 

Aston Villa held the option to make his move permanent for £40 million, but the Englishman got his eyes set on Camp Nou, TalkSport said in a report. Barcelona has been the dream destination for Rashford for a while, and the dream seemed closer to fulfilment, the report added.

 

Rashford donned United’s red shirt 426 times since his debut in 2016, scoring 138 goals. His trophy cabinet with the Red Devils includes two FA Cups, two League Cups, a Community Shield, and the Europa League.

 

Meanwhile, the Nico Williams transfer saga remains unresolved, despite many media outlets and football experts labelling his exit from the Basque club inevitable. Athletic Club maintained that they would not accept any alternative to the payment of the £52.50 million (€62m) release clause in his contract. Athletic Club reportedly monitored Barcelona’s registration activity with both La Liga and the Spanish Football Federation for possible breaches of financial fair play rules. If any were found, they were expected to file complaints against the current champions, with whom they shared problematic relations, Spanish sports reports said.

 

There were no other wingers heavily linked to Barcelona at the time, and if the deal broke down irreversibly, there was a fair chance that Hansi Flick would ask the management to speed up negotiations for Rashford. It remained to be seen how things panned out for the English international.

 

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