Marcus Rashford has joined Barcelona on loan. The 27-year-old striker agreed to reduce his salary by 15% to join Camp Nou.
This is a reasonable number for Rashford to temporarily escape from Old Trafford. In fact, this is a bargain for Rashy because he has moved to a team much stronger than Man United at the moment.
However, although he has moved to Barca, it is uncertain whether Rashford has been registered. For a long time, the Catalan team has had difficulty registering players due to meeting the threshold or exceeding the salary ceiling according to La Liga regulations.
Last season, there was a time when Barca had to rely on the intervention of a Spanish government agency to be granted conditions to register Dani Olmo and Pau Victor for the second half of the 2024-2025 season.
In Marcus Rashford's case, everything is also in waiting mode with the worst scenario being that the English striker cannot participate in the first matches of La Liga 2025-2026.
Currently, Barca is being confirmed by La Liga management agencies to have exceeded the salary ceiling in the 2024-2025 season. They have paid the players more than they earn. Therefore, in theory, Barca cannot register Marcus Rashford in the squad right now.
The simplest way to solve this problem is to sell players who are no longer in the plan to create more space in the salary fund. Even some players are available but if they can sell at good prices, Barca will have to consider them.
Understanding the difficult financial situation, Barca is not in a hurry to buy Rashford no matter how Man United does to reduce the price. According to La Liga law, the "expenditure" (transfer fee divided by the number of years of the contract) of any new contract is included in the budget limit of a season. It is helpful for Barcelona not to pay Man United any loan fees, as those are also included in the budget.
The news that Rashford has accepted a 15% salary reduction is the most reliable. However, there are also other sources saying that the 27-year-old striker must reduce his salary by up to 25% to be able to join Camp Nou. Rashy receives 19.5 million Euros/year (before tax) at Manchester United (including bonuses).
This cut has left Rashford's total salary at Barcelona at only about 14 million Euros/year (excluding bonuses). This salary figure still makes Rashford one of Barca's highest-paid players, along with pillars such as Lamine Yamal or Robert Lewandowski.
To be able to pay Rashford this figure, Barcelona needs about 28 million Euros, including taxes. This is a huge number that could make it impossible for the Camp Nou team to arrange in time before the new season starts.
The question is now, what will happen if Barcelona cannot register Marcus Rashford? Players who are not registered in La Liga will not be able to play for Barcelona in any tournament, not only the national championship, it also includes Copa del Rey or UEFA Champions League.
The risk of being out for the whole season is the main reason why Nico Williams asked Barcelona to make such solid commitments. After that, this striker decided to stay at Athletic Bilbao when the Catalan team could not meet the requirements.
Having successfully borrowed Rashford from Man United, Barcelona cannot lend the English striker to any other club as a way to temporarily deal with the first half of the season. In the coming days, there may be many surprises surrounding this deal that will make Cules startled.
