If Anthony Martial had not been injured during the warm-up, and if Manchester United had not been without 12 players, Marcus Rashford would not have played. This was the second leg of the round of 32 of the European League against Danish Midtjylland, on a cold and cloudy night in February (February), and the «Old Trafford» stadium was not full of fans, and the feeling of frustration and disappointment had escalated significantly, and criticism began to pour in on Manchester United's coach at the time, Louis van Gaal, after the defeat in the first leg by two goals to one.
Things quickly got worse for Manchester United, with Midtjylland taking the lead with a goal from Pioni Sesto. It is true that Manchester United reduced the score with an own goal, but before the end of the first half, Juan Mata missed a penalty kick. But Marcus Rashford took advantage of a cross from Guillermo Varela and put it into the net with a shot on the bird, giving Manchester United the lead.That match ended with Manchester United winning by five goals to one. Within 12 minutes of the second half, Rashford went from an almost unknown player to a prominent star, a position he emphasized again 3 days later, by scoring two goals and assisting another goal in the match in which Manchester United defeated Arsenal.
Rashford was eighteen years old, a native of Manchester, had boundless self-confidence, and was very humble, so it was very ideal for a new star to glow with the Red Devils. The future looked very promising and bright. At that time, expectations about what the young player could offer skyrocketed, and talk began about his ability to score 100 or 200 goals for Manchester United, his ability to lead the club to win the Champions League, and even his potential to lead the England national team to a major tournament.
But 10 years later, Rashford became an unwanted player at Manchester United, moving to Barcelona on loan. Rashford scored 87 Premier League goals for Manchester United, winning two FA Cup titles, two League Cup titles, and one Europa League title. Although he was part of the England team that finished second in the 2020 European Nations Cup finals, this achievement was marred by the fact that he missed a penalty kick that, if scored, would have given England a three-goal lead and put pressure on the Italian team
It's a good run, of course, but there's an inevitable sense of disappointment, especially over the past two seasons. After scoring 30 goals in all competitions with Manchester United in the 2022-2023 season, when he also scored 3 goals in the World Cup, he has only scored 19 goals over the past two years, including 4 goals with Aston Villa, for whom he played on loan during the second half of last season. He often showed signs of dissatisfaction, and after headlines focused on his off-field activities, through his campaign to provide free meals for children, they now focus on his ill-considered social relationships.
Rashford is still only twenty-seven years old, and therefore he is still at the peak of his football career, although players who shine early often reach the peak of their brilliance early as well. Those who believe in the rule that any player's level begins to decline after participating in 500 matches may notice that Rashford has already reached his 500th match in his football career, a match in which Aston Villa defeated Nottingham Forest by two goals to one at the beginning of last April (April).
Rashford has performed well with Aston Villa, proving at least that his problems are primarily caused by Manchester United's problems, and that resetting the team could help him reach the high levels everyone expected of him a decade ago. In fact, there was little evidence that he suffered from a decline in physical condition, or a loss of confidence in the way we saw with Raheem Sterling. However, Aston Villa clearly did not see Rashford enough in his ten Premier League games to activate the final £40m buyout clause. Although Aston Villa may have decided not to activate this deal for fear of approaching the threshold of violating the rules of profit and sustainability, it is difficult to avoid feeling Rashford's failure to perform convincingly during the loan period.
However, Barcelona applied to sign the player, assuming that the Catalan club could find other leverage to register the player.Rashford joined goalkeeper Juan Garcia in the list of players signed by Barcelona, but he has not been able to register them yet due to the financial regulations of the Spanish Premier League. It's a common problem in Barcelona, but he always finds a way around it. It took selling the VIP seat rights for 25 years to a Qatari company, so Barcelona could register Dani Olmo and Pau Victor last season.But there are not many things left for the club to sell. Rashford agreed to reduce his salary of £325,000 a week by 15 per cent (and perhaps 25 per cent, including bonuses), but this still represents a significant amount even as Barcelona returns to the «Camp Nou» stadium soon after completing its renovation.
Despite Barcelona's complex finances, this could be the perfect place for Rashford to regain his form, especially as he will be away from the constant pressure, criticism and censorship he faced in England, which intensified as he became a tool in a culture war. The Spanish Premier League is certainly not as fast and strong as the English Premier League, and Barcelona plays attacking football, scoring 102 goals in the league last season, so it is expected that Rashford will have many opportunities.By comparison, Rafinha, who spent most of last season on the left wing, scored 18 goals.
This may raise the question of why Barcelona wanted to sign Rashford in the first place, especially since the Catalan club already has many distinguished attacking options: Olmo, Ferran Torres, Victor, Pablo Torre, Firmin Lopez, Gavi and Ansu Fati participated in the league on the left side last season, while Rafinha played deep on the field at times.Fati was loaned to Monaco, and Toure was sold to Mallorca, however Barcelona were still looking for a left winger this season, seeking to sign Nico Williams and Luis Diaz before settling on Rashford as a (relatively) discounted option. Although there is a clause of right to purchase for £26 million, it is not mandatory. If Rashford succeeds in performing well, this will mean that Barcelona has signed a fast striker who has the ability to score goals; If this does not work, he can not activate the purchase clause at the end of the season, without losing anything other than paying the player's salary for a year.
As for Rashford, the player is facing real pressure because if he doesn't perform well, his future will be uncertain. In fact, high expectations for promising young players at big clubs are often a «curse»; Because if this promising player does not succeed in performing well for a season or two in the English Premier League, he may end up moving to the Turkish Premier League, or to a club like West Ham! When any young player shows exceptional glimpses at the beginning of his football career - as Rashford did in those few days of February 2016 - there may be a feeling of frustration and disappointment, regardless of the levels this player offers, due to the high expectations for what he will offer. For Rashford's career, the next few months will be very crucial.
