Marcus Rashford has been thriving after his departure from Manchester United. The United academy boy played over 400 times for the Red Devils, but a falling out with manager Ruben Amorim proved to be the final straw for the winger, and he was loaned out to Barcelona.
On the surface, this seemed like a dream move for all involved. United parted with Rashford with a heavy heart, but agreed it was best for all parties for Rashford to move on from his boyhood club. The loan move to Barcelona included a reasonable buy option, around £26 million, which everyone expected would be triggered.
Rashford has consistently played for the Catalan team, providing 15 goal contributions so far this season as the club sits 4 points clear at the top of La Liga. He even played in the Supercopa de España final and won his first trophy with the side. Despite this, reports have emerged from Spain that Barcelona are exploring alternative options for Marcus Rashford.
As reported by TalkSport, Barcelona currently have no plans to trigger Marcus Rashford's buy option, and are instead exploring more economical options to retain the Englishman's talents next season. Barcelona are reportedly still interested in making Rashford's move to Spain permanent, but this has thrown a spanner in the works.
Barcelona put the brakes on Rashford deal
It's common knowledge that the purse strings at Barcelona are tight. Barcelona have deeply struggled with their finances for a number of years, and have paid the price for it in the past.
Big money signings like Antoine Griezmann and Philippe Coutinho helped to form a black hole in Barcelona's books. It eventually led to Barcelona being unable to retain Lionel Messi's contract, forcing the best player to ever live to walk out of their doors, despite the fact he wished to stay.
Barcelona have consistently struggled to stay within La Liga's tight monetary restrictions, which often leads to players being purchased but then not registered to play for the club. The club's finances have recovered somewhat, but their margins remain tight.
The club's monetrary issues are what led to the Rashford deal only being a loan in the first place. It was widely expected that they would eventually trigger the buy option, and Rashford has performed to a level where he deserves to join permanently.
Barcelona are still interested in keeping the United winger permanently, but wish to return to the negotiating table and purchase him for a lower price.
It puts Manchester United in a difficult spot. United will be desperate to offload Rashford. He has made it clear that he believes his time with United is over, and they will be anxious not to relive the Jadon Sancho debacle, with three successive loans when teams refused to sign him permanently.
Rashford is also the highest paid player on United's payroll, and INEOS will want that money off the books. It gives United a tough hand at the negotiating table, and they will struggle to get the full agreed fee from Barcelona if they don't intend to pay it.
This may well develop into a saga from this point. All parties are motivated to bring about the same result, but if Man United, Barcelona, and Marcus Rashford all see the deal in different ways, this may well be a process that drags all the way into the summer.