Barca blow for Rashford as £97.6m decision jeopardises

Marcus Rashford’s hopes of sealing a permanent move to Barcelona from Manchester United have supposedly been dealt a blow due to the Catalan club’s long-running financial problems.

The 27-year-old announced himself to the Blaugrana faithful with a man-of-the-match performance in Thursday’s Champions League victory over Newcastle United, scoring both goals in a 2-1 victory at St James’ Park.

A smart header preceded a 20-yard rocket from Rashford, who benefitted from Lamine Yamal’s injury to start the European contest after also claiming an assist in the 6-0 La Liga thumping of Valencia last weekend.

Barcelona’s loan agreement includes the option to sign Rashford on a permanent basis from Man United, who stand to receive circa €30m (£26.2m) if La Blaugrana activate that clause at the end of the season.

However, Rashford’s dream of a long-term stay at Camp Nou is now at risk of remaining unfulfilled, as The Athletic reports that Barcelona’s salary cap has been slashed by a whopping €112m (£97.6m).

Rashford’s Barcelona dream suffers blow as Blaugrana salary cap ‘slashed’

Owing to their long-running economic troubles, Barcelona have activated a number of ‘levers’ in order to both sign and register new players for their first-team squad over the past few years, selling off numerous assets such as TV rights and VIP boxes.

La Blaugrana’s salary cap was formerly set at just over £400m, thanks largely to the €100m (£87.2m) raised by selling 25 years of future revenues from Camp Nou VIP areas, which was certified by a previous club auditor.

However, Barcelona’s new auditors supposedly did not agree with the certification of that £87.2m, and the La Liga champions’ new salary cap has been lowered to €351m (£306m).

La Blaugrana’s troubled financial situation has not been helped by the club playing away from Camp Nou for the past two seasons, as the stadium has undergone significant redevelopment, and Barca’s return date has been continually pushed back.

The Spanish champions played at the 55,926-capacity Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys up until the end of last season, but they are currently hosting matches at the Johan Cruyff Stadium, which holds just 6,000 spectators.

Rashford to Barcelona: How could the saga play out for Man United forward?

According to football salaries website Capology, Rashford is on an annual wage of €14m (£12.2m) at Barcelona, which makes the Man United loanee the seventh highest-paid player in Hansi Flick’s squad.

Robert Lewandowski takes home the most amount of money – a staggering £18.1m per year – but the veteran forward’s future beyond the end of the season is uncertain, and his possible exit would open the door for Rashford to stay.

However, it has also been suggested that Barcelona are plotting an audacious move to sign Erling Haaland from Manchester City, and if Raphinha and Lamine Yamal both stick around and continue to impress, Rashford may be surplus to requirements.

There is ostensibly no chance of the 27-year-old reigniting his Man United career under Ruben Amorim either, but the Portuguese may very well no longer be at Old Trafford in 2026 either, if the Red Devils continue to under-perform.

Rashford still has three years left to run on his contract at Old Trafford too, so at this moment in time, it would take a brave soul to confidently predict how the situation might play out.

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