According to the Post, despite rumors that Rashford is the third choice for Barcelona's forward signing this summer, he has actually been the player that Barcelona's sports director Deco hopes to introduce.
Barcelona was close to signing Rashford in January this year, but failed due to the club's financial difficulties. This summer's deal was put on the agenda, and Rashford will also become the first English player to join Barcelona after Leinkell left in 1989. This week, he will join Flick's team and fly to Japan with Yamal and others on Thursday to start a 10-day Asian tour. However, Barcelona is not able to register a new player yet, but Rashford is willing to take this risk and believes that the club can solve the problem before the new season begins.
Barcelona thought in January that Rashford could help them solve the shortage of funds and strikers, but because Fati refused to leave the team in the winter window, the transfer was temporarily shelved. At the end of May, Deco met with Rashford's brother and agent Maynard in Barcelona. The exchange further strengthened Deco's idea of signing Rashford. Although Nico Williams took the initiative to contact Barcelona and wanted to join at one time, Rashford seemed no longer the first choice, the club still had some important voices, including Deco, who believed that Rashford was a better choice.
Because if Nico joins Barcelona, his request will be a starter, which may cause problems. Rashford, by contrast, would not make these requests and could serve as center if necessary. Eventually, Nico's transfer failed early in the month, and while some people said it was embarrassing for the club, Deco was very satisfied with it and contacted Rashford again. Some Catalan media view Rashford as an alternative to Liverpool striker Dias, but the reality is that the latter is beyond Barcelona's budget. Another advantage of signing Rashford is that if the player performs poorly in the next season, Barcelona does not need to have a mandatory buyout. The loan is accompanied by a buyout clause of 40 million pounds, Barcelona pays all Rashford's salary, and the players cut their salary by 15% for joining. Next, the La Liga will review the deal to decide whether Barcelona can register a new player. It is worth noting that Ter Stegen's agent is privately exploring transfer options. If he is successfully sold, he will save 17 million euros of salary expenditure, and the space will be used to register for Rashford.
Last season, after Ormo joined from Leipzig, he also experienced similar registration twists and turns. Barcelona will emphasize the financial sacrifices made by players to win the support of fans. Now, they also believe that Flick can activate Rashford, and the coach is fluent in English and has had a long time communication with the players. Barcelona envied Real Madrid's use of the influence Bellingham gained in the English-speaking world, and now they also have the England international and think it will be their last year in financial trouble.