Four Marcus Rashford Alternatives Barcelona Could Sign After Man Utd Ultimatum

The back-to-back La Liga champions are playing a game at the negotiating table.

Man Utd are refusing to back down over the on-loan forward. | Josep LAGO/AFP/Getty Images

Manchester United’s stance on Marcus Rashford continuing as a Barcelona player next season is reported to remain as firm as it always has been: pay up now or no deal.

Rashford joined Barça last summer on a season-long loan and has played his part in the club winning La Liga—he even scored in the decisive Clásico win over Real Madrid at Camp Nou last Sunday.

But it has been clear for some time that, while Rashford is keen to stay, Barcelona are hesitant or even reluctant to trigger the fixed option to buy included in the original loan agreement. The Catalans can make Rashford a permanent signing by handing over $35.1 million (€30 million, £26 million), a price considered below market value for the 28-year-old.

An update from Fabrizio Romano reveals that discussions between Manchester United and Barcelona are still taking place. It remains the case that the latter don’t want to pay the prearranged fee, hoping to renegotiate “creative” new terms in the form of a second loan with another option or obligation to buy included. The issue is that United “want the money” now and it has to be the “full clause.” From the Manchester side of the negotiating table, there will be no do-over.

The Athletic notes that Barcelona will make a final decision on whether to pay the clause “sooner rather than later.” The saga has morphed a political standoff—who will blink first and concede?—and it has been fed through the Spanish media for months that interest in keeping Rashford has “cooled.”

Gameplaying could even see Barcelona allow the original loan to end and so that the option-to-buy expires in the hope of pressuring United if no other clubs show interest in taking the England international.

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Who Could Barcelona Sign Instead of Rashford?

Barcelona are weighing up spending more on someone younger with a lower salary. | Ricardo Larreina/Europa Press/Getty Images

If Barcelona opt against—or fail in fresh negotiations—to sign Rashford for at least one more year, the Catalans will need to find a replacement. Even if Ferran Torres completes his ascent to starting No. 9 once Robert Lewandowski leaves, there is still a requirement for versatile cover.

Rashford has effectively been that backup option this season, not a starter when everyone is available but generally considered the first alternative to Raphinha or Lamine Yamal, both of whom have suffered injuries.

The aforementioned Athletic report suggests Barcelona executives believe spending a larger transfer fee on a new forward who is younger than Rashford would have the same overall financial impact. That is likely to be as a result of a lower salary offsetting the heftier fee, given that Rashford’s paycheck has been fully covered by Barcelona during his loan—still in the region of $16.4 million even after agreeing a cut.

Newcastle United winger Anthony Gordon, 25 years of age, has been linked with Barcelona and only currently earns around half as much as Rashford. The Magpies could ask for $101 million though. Real Betis’ Abde Ezzalouli, formerly of La Masia, would be much cheaper than Gordon on both fronts.

Eli Junior Kroupi of Bournemouth is on the radar, viewed by the Cherries as a player potentially worth in excess of $130 million in the future after his breakout season in the Premier League—it might make sense to go after the 19-year-old before he breaks into that elite category.

Osasuna’s Víctor Muñoz is another possibility towards the cheaper end, but still valued higher than the option on Rashford because of a release clause set at $46.8 million. The complication with him is that Real Madrid are believed to hold a buyback clause they could trigger for less than $10 million.

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