Marcus Rashford to Barcelona ON as surprise transfer sealed

Tom Weber

Updated: 24 May 2025 19:09 BST
4 min read

Manchester United outcast Marcus Rashford could be on his way to Barcelona after all, with the Catalans on the verge of offloading Ansu Fati.

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Rashford has spent the second half of the season on loan at Aston Villa after falling out of favour under Ruben Amorim, and he has managed to impress in Birmingham.

Current ETV

Marcus Rashford

M, AM (L), F (C)

Aston Villa

Marcus Rashford

M, AM (L), F (C)

Aston Villa

ETV Range

€48.2M - €58.9M

However, it is not yet clear whether his good performances will ultimately translate to Villa making his stay permanent by utilising their purchase option. Rashford could also simply turn down a prolonged stint at Villa Park should the club fail to qualify for the Champions League.

Villa have a chance to secure a place in Europe's premier competition on Sunday when they, fittingly, face Rashford's parent club Man Utd. The 27-year-old will only be a spectator as he is currently nursing an injury and wouldn't have been eligible to play anyway.

Reports in recent weeks have claimed that Rashford would actually favour a move to Barcelona, which was already his dream destination when he initially departed Old Trafford in January.

Rashford to Barcelona on?

At the time, no move materialised because Ansu Fati refused to leave and left the Catalans without the necessary financial wiggle room to sign Rashford.

However, Barcelona have already announced that they remain keen to reinforce their wide options this summer. Sporting director Deco recently confirmed that he wants to add wingers to ease the burden on Lamine Yamal and Raphinha.

President Joan Laporta subsequently - and somewhat surprisingly - revealed that the Blaugrana have ended their pursuit of former top target Nico Williams.

According to journalist Toni Juanmarti, Barcelona will target 'low-cost' solutions, and there is a feeling that a move for Liverpool winger Luis Diaz could prove unfeasible due to his expected price.

This has put Rashford firmly back into the viewfinder of the LaLiga champions, and the first domino is already about to fall as Fati will, belatedly, leave the club to make way for a new signing.

Fabrizio Romano reports that Fati is on the verge of joining Ligue 1 side Monaco in a deal that is expected to cost less than €20 million. The player has already greenlit the move. In doing so, he may have also set in motion Rashford's next transfer.

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