Barcelona Miss £26m Rashford Man Utd Exit Rumors Deadline
Barcelona missed the deadline to trigger the £26m option for Marcus Rashford, leaving rashford man utd exit rumors tied to a return to Manchester United. The forward remains a Manchester United player and is due back on 1 July.
Barcelona and Rashford
Barcelona had agreed with Manchester United to turn the loan into a permanent deal if the clause was activated, but the deadline passed without that move. Rashford is now set to return officially to Manchester United with two years left on a £325,000-a-week contract.
That leaves United with a player who has spent the last two seasons out on loan and whose future was already being mapped out away from the club. Manchester United gave his number 10 shirt to Matheus Cunha last season, a sign that the squad picture around Rashford has already shifted.
Amorim's Rashford plan
Ruben Amorim also made the separation plain last season when he put Rashford in his 'bomb squad' and told him to train at different times to the main group. The club's summer rebuilding plans are being pieced together with the belief that Rashford will not be part of them, but he is still on the books for now.
That is the awkward part of the deadline passing. Barcelona passed on the purchase option, yet Rashford still returns to a contract that runs for two more years and carries a weekly wage of £325,000, so any move away from Old Trafford will need a fresh decision rather than the clause that has just expired.
Kansas City and England
Rashford did not appear consumed by concerns about his future while training in Kansas City, where England were preparing for a World Cup Group L opener against Croatia in Dallas on Wednesday. He has already spent the last two seasons on loan, and the next step now sits back with Manchester United and the player.
In April, Michael Carrick said no decision had been made about Rashford's future and added, "Whoever's here, I want to work with them and help them to improve." That line now fits a situation where the deadline has gone, the clause is gone with it, and Rashford is back in United's hands on 1 July.
