Barcelona is said to have reached a personal agreement with Marcus Rashford, but they have not yet found common ground with Manchester United in their efforts to keep the English striker after a successful loan season at Camp Nou.
Rashford wants to continue to stick with coach Hansi Flick's team and is ready to significantly reduce his current salary to complete the deal. According to Spanish media, personal terms between the two sides have been agreed upon.
The 28-year-old striker has strongly revived at Barcelona when contributing 14 goals and 14 assists after 48 appearances, making a great contribution to helping the club win the La Liga championship under Flick. That impressive form makes Barca want to keep him for a long time. However, the biggest difficulty lies in financial issues.
The Camp Nou team does not want to activate a buyout clause worth £26 million in the initial loan contract. Instead, the Catalan team hopes to be able to extend for another season on loan with a buyout clause at a lower price next summer - when Rashford only has one year left on his contract with Man United.
MU does not agree with this option. The Old Trafford team believes that Rashford has regained his value after a explosive season in Spain. They do not want to continue loaning because it will reduce his transfer value over time.
However, the "Red Devils" are said to be ready to create conditions for payment methods, including allowing Barcelona to pay the transfer fee in installments for 3 years.
In addition to the transfer fee, the salary fund issue is also a major obstacle for Barcelona. Although Rashford agreed to significantly reduce his income compared to the salary of about 32.5 million pounds per week at Old Trafford, Barca still needs to release more salary funds to register players according to La Liga's financial regulations.
One of the most important factors for Rashford at this time is the absolute support from Flick. The German coach sees him as an ideal choice on the left wing and is said not to completely trust other replacements in the squad.
After the La Liga championship, Flick especially praised Barcelona's team spirit and the role of the players in building a solidarity atmosphere at the club.
I am very proud of the whole team. This is like a real family. The most important thing is how they fight for each other in each match and each training session" - the Barcelona captain said.
As for Rashford, his priority is to settle his future as soon as possible before participating in the 2026 World Cup in North America with the England national team this summer.
However, as Barcelona is still financially limited and Man United does not want to concede, this deal is likely to last for the rest of the summer transfer window.
