Man United Marcus Rashford transfer fact clear as Barcelona make announcement

Man United Marcus Rashford transfer fact clear as Barcelona make announcement

Latest Manchester United transfer news as Marcus Rashford's search for a new club continues

Marcus Rashford of Manchester United (Image: Tom Jenkins/Getty Images )

If Marcus Rashford is to secure his 'dream' transfer from Manchester United to Barcelona, the forward will not be doing so wearing the same shirt number as he has done at Old Trafford.

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That fact comes down to the La Liga champions announcing a six-year contract extension for Lamine Yamal and with it the attacking teenage sensation is to switch from Barca's No.19 jersey to it's No.10.

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"This is the beginning of a journey that I hope will be very long and full of victories," Yamal told his club's website. Hinting that he will not be giving up the digits formerly worn by Lionel Messi for quite some time, the 18-year-old added: "This is my lifetime club and the best in the world."

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So, were Rashford to seal a move from United to the Nou Camp for the 2025/26 campaign he would be denied the No.10 he wore for his own boyhood club from the start of the 2018/19 campaign through to his final appearance under Ruben Amorim last December. After this he did not play for the club again before his short-term loan to Aston Villa was sealed.

Now that spell has ended and the West Midlands club have not activated their £40m option, the 28-year-old has been forced to seek out other opportunities to continue his career.

His current order alongside four teammates at United is to train away from the first-team, who fly off for their pre-season tour in Sweden and the United States at the end of the week. Upon returning he has also discovered the No.10 has now officially been passed on to new £62.5m signing Matheus Cunha, to add a further personal blow into the mix.

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Rashford has been gathering interest from Barcelona after the Manchester Evening News came to understand he had asked to explore options to leave, all whilst they have been described as his 'dream' destination, suggesting there is a mutual attraction.

At the moment, the latest suggestion is that the Spaniards are yet to make a decision on what they will do in the transfer market. Top target Nico Williams is now out of reach having renewed his contract with Athletic Bilbao, now United's attacker and Liverpool's Luis Diaz are the next two closely linked with the move.

With all of this said, former United striker Teddy Sheringham does not believe the England international deserves a move.

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"If you assess where Marcus Rashford is at as a professional footballer, you strive as a youngster to get to the very top and play for clubs like Manchester United, and when you're there, you appreciate it.

"You don't throw it away and say you want to leave," he explained. "I find the whole episode very soul-destroying, compared to the way I was back in the day and how I strove to get the privilege to play for such a huge football club.

"To hear someone talking the way he is talking, saying he wants out – I didn't like Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang doing that at Arsenal, I thought it was soul-destroying, and I hope Rashford doesn't get the move that he's hankering for.

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"From my perspective, if you go from Manchester United to Barcelona, that's a step up that he hasn't deserved."

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