A club known for its long and proud history of developing homegrown talent has secured their league title by defeating their main rivals with a stunning goal from Marcus Rashford. For Manchester United, this may have seemed like an ideal scenario. However, the reality is that the newly crowned champions are Barcelona, with Rashford’s curling free kick playing a key role in their Clasico victory over Real Madrid.
This achievement marks a historic moment for Rashford, as he becomes the first Englishman to win LaLiga with Barcelona. He joins an exclusive group of players who have triumphed with the club, including Laurie Cunningham, David Beckham, Kieran Trippier, and Jude Bellingham. If the circumstances were different, it might have prompted Barcelona to activate the €30m option to make his loan permanent. However, if the situation had been different, Rashford may not have pursued the move to Camp Nou so strongly, especially considering that the Catalan club was also interested in more expensive options like Luis Diaz and Nico Williams last summer. Rashford was likely seen as a third option, partly because of United’s inability to sell him.
Despite this, Rashford has proven to be a valuable squad player, with nearly equal numbers of starts and substitute appearances. His performance includes 14 goals in 47 games, which is decent but not exceptional. More impressively, he has recorded 14 assists, giving him 28 goal contributions. This averages out to one every 87 minutes on the pitch. There is some debate about whether these figures are inflated, particularly given that Barcelona have been competing in Europe. Nevertheless, Rashford has as many goal involvements this season as Bruno Fernandes.
This situation could offer insight into what Manchester United might be missing. While they haven’t lost much, they have managed to qualify for the Champions League and have accumulated the most points in the Premier League since Michael Carrick returned to Old Trafford. However, this success has been built on a small core of players. With European commitments next season, United will need more players, especially in attack. This became evident even before Joshua Zirkzee struggled in Saturday’s stalemate against Sunderland, highlighting why he isn’t up to the task.
The current United squad, reshaped by Ruben Amorim, features a 3-4-3 formation that didn’t suit Rashford—or anyone else, for that matter. The team lacks a natural left-winger. Patrick Dorgu started under Carrick in that position, performing well before an injury. It remains unclear whether this was a short-term strategy or a long-term plan. Matheus Cunha has occupied the role more often, but he essentially functions as a No 10. Fernandes and Bryan Mbeumo have taken turns there, while Rashford would have had the potential to be a regular starter.
Benjamin Sesko is the only specialist No 9 in the squad, and although Rashford may not describe himself as such, he is better suited to fill the role than most players on United’s books, except for Rasmus Hojlund, whose loan to Napoli is expected to become permanent.
As shown by United’s recruitment drive last summer, where they spent around £200m on Cunha, Sesko, and Mbeumo, the club can end up paying at least £60m for forwards. They acknowledge that they paid towards the upper end of their valuations for players who, in some cases, are less gifted than Rashford.
Selling Rashford for €30m would represent a figure at the lower end of his valuation, even considering his significant wages and the fact that he turns 29 in October. These numbers are important when the summer spending needs to focus on the midfield, potentially requiring a £200m rebuild with at least two signings—ideally three. Other additions may also be needed, such as a left-back, unless Dorgu is pencilled in for defensive duties.
Meanwhile, there is no guarantee that Barcelona, whose finances are always tight and who prefer to acquire quality players at a lower cost, would even attempt to buy Rashford. They might instead aim to borrow him again. There is a sense that Rashford feels his United career is over, even beyond the desire to be in Catalonia. Some fans and members of the club may not want him to return. As things unraveled over the past 18 months following his outstanding 2022-23 campaign, there were more incidents than those that became public.
However, it was true that Rashford was quickly exiled by Amorim, whose United then scored very few goals. This decision was damaging, but Amorim is gone. Carrick, a former teammate and coach, knows Rashford well. In fact, no player scored more goals or provided more assists for Solskjaer’s United than Rashford.
Last month, United’s temporary manager said no decision had been made on Rashford. Nor on Carrick himself, though he is likely to get the job on a longer-term basis. If Carrick provided a non-answer last week, Rashford may yet be a logical choice for United.
Some bridges may need to be rebuilt, but he is a scorer of 138 United goals, a player capable of excelling for Barcelona. They are not obligated to give him to the new Spanish champions for a low price. Especially not when he could fill at least two gaps in United’s plans for next season.
