Well, it seems that one of the longest English Premier League stories of the summer has now finally come to an end as Manchester United outcast Marcus Rashford now appears to have at long last completed his Barca move to the Spanish La Liga giants.
Rashford and Social Media
Well almost, anyway. Over the weekend the 27-year-old 62-capped England international striker took to his social media feed to upload a post showing that he was on a private plane and headed to Barcelona with brothers Dane and Dwaine. They were playing cards as they travelled, and Rashford promptly showed ‘the ace of hearts’. A GG.BET betting operator would certainly have their odds on what that message was meant to mean given everything that has appeared in the press in the last few months.
Cryptic social media messages from football players are certainly nothing new in the modern game, and they are certainly not new for fans of the Red Devil’s who do not seem to be yet over Alejandro Garnacho’s wearing of a Rashford shirt as he showed presumed support for his former team mate. But the card was symbolic and it had long been reported that Rashford destination of preference this summer would be the Camp Nou, as simply put he has no Old Trafford under Ruben Amorim and with Aston Villa missing out on Champions League football by the narrowest of margins, doubts were then raised as to whether or not they could afford the permanent deal that had been negotiated as part of the original loan last season.
Questions on Rashford’s ‘regaining form’
Obviously in getting his dream move, there are now major questions that will be asked directly of the former England man when it comes to whether or not he can now truly recapture his form now he is outside of an atmosphere that was clearly not working for him. He certainly showed flashes at Villa Park in the second half of last season, but the loan was not the success many felt it should have been.
And for both Rashford and United, this is where the questions will go. Barcelona have only struck a loan deal and although there is a buy clause (reportedly now just £30.3 million and not Villa’s agreement of £40 million) built in, they clearly have doubts themselves as it is only optional and in no way an obligated clause. That is obviously great value for the Spanish side given their well known and documented financial issues in recent seasons, but it still represents a doubt.
Should that doubt prove true, that would then really raise a question mark over his head, because in 12 months time there will be no easier route back to his former club, and others will question why he could not reinvigorate himself at a club like Barca, what chance would they have.
And that is without getting into the cohort who believes he really now needs to turn over a fresh leaf and have a new experience having gone stale at his boyhood club, nor the fact that a good number of fans have now also turned against him.
If it does not work, Barca are the only ones who benefit, from Rashford’s point of view particularly with the upcoming World Cup, he absolutely needs it to work and there cannot be any wriggle room.
Main image credit: Andrew Yates / Sportimage