Marcus Rashford departs Man Utd as the club legend who was let down

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As Marcus Rashford is unveiled as a new Barcelona player, one can’t help but feel that it could have all been so different.

The Manchester-born United fan who netted twice on his debut seemed like a fairytale story, and for a while it was, with the then-18-year-old even playing a part in a major trophy win as Manchester United won a first FA Cup in 13 years that May.

However, fast forward to 2025 and fans and pundits seem to be in unanimous agreement that a loan exit for a once-adored academy product is best for all parties.

But while a large section of the fanbase have been quick to blame the 27-year-old, it may pay for both United and their fans to look inward when pondering what went wrong with their latest club legend.

Rashford had previously spoken of his desire to play for Barcelona (Getty Images)

It’s true that it could barely have gone more wrong for Rashford in the last couple of years, and yet he will be lining up for one of the world’s best sides next season.

And while Barcelona’s obvious financial issues have contributed to the deal, Rashford has proven himself capable of playing at this level.

138 goals across 426 games for Manchester United is a statistic that speaks for itself, despite United’s comparatively lowly stature of late, and he is one of United’s only recent players who could genuinely claim to be world class at one point, even if it was for only a season.

In fact, only a handful of recent United players – including Angel di Maria, Paul Pogba and Juan Mata – can claim to be more naturally talented than the Englishman, with fewer still possessing the same physical traits that nowadays are so vital to platforming such talent in the Premier League.

Rashford's debut was a fairytale start to life at Old Trafford — Rashford’s debut was a fairytale start to life at Old Trafford (Getty Images)

And Rashford has also been the most successful, winning one Europa League, two FA Cups and two League Cups since his debut. A modest return when compared with some of his predecessors, but not something to be sniffed at considering the state of the club during his own peak years.

Some legends are made because of their contribution during glory years, others span mixed periods, and some are made during a club’s worst years. Rashford falls in the middle, an ever-present for years since his debut, a winger who stood for everything the idealised United player is supposed to: quick, direct, skilful, with the ability to get fans off their seats and score goals. It is these factors that will appeal to Barcelona.

And as for explaining Rashford’s exit, suffice to say that he is simply the most recent in a long list of players that the club has let down, from Di Maria and Pogba to Wayne Rooney.

United nowadays is a picture of failure, from the pitch to the boardroom and in many areas in between. This has shown most obviously on the pitch, in a theme that has been running since the Glazers took over. Rooney was the first to realise when he questioned the club’s ambition in 2010.

The Europa League win remains Rashford's biggest honour so far — The Europa League win remains Rashford’s biggest honour so far (Getty Images)

Rashford is just another on this list, an easy scapegoat due to his deeper ties to the club. Some fans will argue the opposite, pointing out how Rashford supposedly “downed tools” as well as his admittedly poor performances in the last two seasons, but they are failing to look at the the bigger picture. Alongside Rashford, Bruno Fernandes is probably the only success story to come out of the period between 2016 and 2025. If only two players are able to succeed at the club, whose fault is that likely to be?

Rather than throw blame at Rashford, perhaps it is better to ask ourselves: What exactly were we expecting? For Rashford to carry one of the biggest clubs in the world on his back for almost a decade, and to win the Champions League while doing so?

From the scouting and buying of the required level of player to hiring poor managers, it is an undisputed fact that United have constantly been failing in key areas, so to pin all the blame for this current situation on Rashford is blatantly unfair.

United's on-pitch failures have been a consequence of mismanagement throughout the Glazers' ownership — United’s on-pitch failures have been a consequence of mismanagement throughout the Glazers’ ownership (Getty Images)

But is precisely that constant blame that will have made Rashford’s situation worse. Unfortunately for him, Rashford continues to draw the ire of United fans for myriad reasons, but rather than anything constructive he is merely subjected to questions over his commitment or an increase in general press coverage on every issue from relationships to the cars he is driving.

People are quick to dismiss the human reasons when evaluating where it all went wrong for different footballers, often with reference to the wages they make, as if there is a certain payment threshold whereby you magically become immune to abuse.

Like Paul Pogba and many others in England before him, Rashford has also received the full spectrum of abuse on social media. A difficult thing to deal with at any time, let alone when every single thing you do is scrutinised on top of that.

And so the question is raised again – did we really expect him to almost single-handedly lead United to various titles despite all of this too?

Paul Pogba is the most notable player to have faced the media witch hunt during his time in England (Getty Images)

Of course, it may not happen for him in Catalonia either, and he may face a similar level of media attention at the Nou Camp. But one of the biggest questions around Rashford’s career has always been the ‘what if?’

What if he played in an easier league? What if he had a better structure, better teammates, better managers? We’re about to find out.

He may not have fulfilled the early promise at United, but it is difficult not to feel happy for Rashford as he is unveiled as a Barcelona player. The boyhood United fan may not have achieved what he wanted, but he now has a chance to shine at a club on a similar stage, but with a far more useful structure around him (despite Barca’s well-publicised problems).

But whatever happens with his United future, Barcelona offers a chance for Rashford to achieve his domestic footballing dreams, earn a place in the England squad and get back to loving football – and that is an opportunity he deserves no matter what Teddy Sheringham thinks.

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