Barcelona sporting director Deco has suggested that Marcus Rashford suffered from being “too young” when he entered the Manchester United spotlight, coinciding with a challenging moment in the club’s modern history, and is now “happy” again at Camp Nou.
Rashford scored 138 goals in 426 appearances for United from the age of 18 onwards, unexpectedly debuting with a bang in 2016. But the club has been through multiple transitions from different managerial regimes and rebuilds throughout the almost decade since, with Rashford himself perhaps unfairly burdened with a leading role in an underperforming team from the age of 21.
Even though he flourished during the 2022–23 campaign in particular under Erik ten Hag—becoming the only United player since Sir Alex Fergusion retired 10 years earlier to score 30 goals in a single season—Rashford had otherwise put up consistently poor numbers since 2021.
After being unceremoniously pushed to the fringes by Ruben Amorim within weeks of the Portuguese coach’s appointment last November, Rashford finished 2024–25 with Aston Villa and then joined Barcelona for the duration of 2025–26. With 17 goals and assists to his name in only 18 appearances for the club so far, it’s clear that the 28-year-old has got his mojo back.
“He’s happy with us,” Deco explained in an interview with The Times, hinting that Rashford had become the opposite with his life at United.
“Marcus is a fantastic player. He faced the responsibility of becoming an important player at Man Utd—United, like us, are one of the biggest clubs in the world—too young. He suffered a bit with this change of generation at United too. If you see United in the last five years, they had difficulties rebuilding the team, to become stronger again. He was there. So, it’s not easy for a player [from whom] people demand a lot. When you are an important player, you have a lot of responsibility.”
Barcelona had gone into the 2025 summer transfer window again targeting Athletic Club winger Nico Williams, but again fell short of convincing the Spain international—or having the financial means—to leave home in Bilbao. Rashford always appeared a backup target, a perception that club president Joan Laporta refuted once the Englishman was actually signed.
Looking back now, Deco claims that Rashford was an ideal recruit because of his versatility to fill all three attacking roles up front—on either flank or as a No. 9 though the middle.
“We were looking for a player like him on the market,” the retired midfielder continued. “A player that could play in the three positions up front. We were able to sign Marcus on loan now because of his desire to play for Barcelona. He waited a lot. He knew that we were dealing with financial rules. But he was patient. He waited and we’re happy to have him.”
Will Barcelona Sign Rashford Permanently?
If Rashford, who accepted a 25% pay cut to help push through his move to Spain, continues to perform as he has done it feels like a good deal for someone who has previously demonstrated his ability to be a matchwinner at the highest level, in the right environment.
The problem that Barcelona could still run into is financial. The Catalans are still not out of the woods, having been forced to carefully manage thinks for the last five years, although the return to Camp Nou should help thanks to gradual increases in matchday revenues as the stadium renovation gets closer to its final completion and the permissible capacity grows.
The option on Rashford is likely to expire when the loan runs out on June 30—the official end of the 2025–26 season. If Barcelona haven’t triggered their cut-price option by then, Rashford could wind up on the open market instead. They would then face having to pay more if other clubs start showing serious interest—based off the player’s resurgent form—and Manchester United encourage a bidding war to drive up the price.
A lot could depend on whether Barcelona, who were unable to register Rashford to play until the eve of their opening La Liga fixture, will have the means to trigger the option before the end of June. Deco has already implied that taking the option on Rashford any sooner than the end of the season’s schedule in May is unlikely.
“If we are doing well and there are no surprises, I don’t think it’s necessary,” he said during a recent appearance marking the reopening of Camp Nou.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Barcelona Chief Explains Why Marcus Rashford ‘Suffered’ at Man Utd.
