Barcelona have an unexpected new Marcus Rashford PROBLEM

Tom Weber
Tom Weber
  • Updated: 23 Dec 2025 17:07 GMT
  • 4 min read
Barcelona's Marcus Rashford celebrates scoring against Newcastle in the Champions League, 2025/26
© IMAGO

Barcelona may have to get creative to sign Manchester United loanee Marcus Rashford following the revelation that AS Monaco no longer intend to keep Ansu Fati.

Article continues under the video

The futures of Rashford and Fati have been intertwined for the past 12 months. Last January, the former was determined to join Barcelona from Man Utd but was unable to do so due to the latter's unwillingness to make way.

Barcelona were not able to fit Rashford within LaLiga's salary cap without Fati leaving, but the former wonderkid wanted to stay and fight for his place. This fight was unsuccessful, and he accepted defeat in the summer.

Compared
Player image Marcus Rashford
Marcus Rashford

F, M (L)

Barcelona logo

Barcelona

Marcus Rashford
Marcus Rashford

F, M (L)

Barcelona

Barcelona

VS

Player image Ansu Fati
Ansu Fati

F (CL), M (L)

Monaco logo

Monaco

Ansu Fati
Ansu Fati

F (CL), M (L)

Monaco

Monaco

2025/2026

Season Statistics

2025/2026

24 Appearances 14
9 Assists 0
7 Goals 6

Fati joined Monaco on loan, which allowed Barcelona to belatedly sign Rashford. It initially looked a win-win scenario for all involved. Both Fati and Rashford hit the ground running at their new clubs.

However, the situation has dramatically changed now. While Rashford is still starring for the Blaugrana, Fati has become a forgotten man at Monaco. According to journalist Romain Molina, the Principality club no longer want the 23-year-old.

Fati fallout to influence Rashford future

The winger arrived to huge fanfare in Monaco and scored a whopping six goals in his first five games for the Ligue 1 outfit under then-head coach Adi Hutter.

Unfortunately for Fati, Hutter was sacked in October and replaced by Sebastien Pocognoli. The pair have had a tense relationship from the start, leading to diminished game time for the former Spain international.

Ansu Fati
© IMAGO - Ansu Fati

The 23-year-old has not found the back of the net since early October, and he has been unavailable for much of December due to a hamstring injury. Monaco have a €12 million purchase option, but Molina's reporting makes it clear that it won't be triggered.

This means that Fati will return to Barcelona in the summer at the latest. This, in turn, will create a new problem for Rashford, who Barcelona are determined to keep after his spectacular impact this season.

The Blaugrana will again find themselves in a position where they first have to offload Fati before being able to sign Rashford, this time permanently.

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