2025-10-23
Marcus Rashford: 'For Sure' I Want To Stay At Barcelona Beyond Loan
Marcus Rashford has expressed his desire to remain at Barcelona permanently after his one-year loan from Manchester United, telling ESPN he is enjoying life at the Catalan club. The 27-year-old England international cited needing a change after spending 23 years with the Premier League side since joining their academy at age seven.Barcelona hold an option to sign Rashford permanently for €30 million at the end of the 2025-26 season. The forward has impressed under Hansi Flick, recording five goals and six assists in 12 appearances since his summer arrival."Oh yeah, for sure," Rashford said when asked about extending his stay. "I'm enjoying this football club and I think for anybody who loves football, Barcelona is one of the key clubs in the history of the game. For a player is an honor."Rashford did not feature for Manchester United after December 2024, having fallen out of favor under head coach Ruben Amorim. He spent the second half of the 2024-25 campaign on loan at Aston Villa before securing his Barcelona move.The Athletic reported in January that Rashford favored a Barcelona transfer, with sporting director Deco monitoring the situation closely. His United contract runs through 2028, but the forward emphasized his need for a new environment."It was so many years in one place," Rashford explained. "People forget this, but 24 years, 23 years of my life was with Manchester United. So sometimes you just need a change."Rashford has been reintegrated into England's squad by head coach Thomas Tuchel after being omitted by Gareth Southgate for last year's European Championship. He has appeared in three of Tuchel's four squads since taking charge.The striker scored 138 goals in 426 appearances for United after breaking into the first team in 2015-16. Barcelona face Real Madrid in Sunday's El Clasico at the Bernabeu, with Los Blancos holding a two-point lead atop La Liga.
