Alan Shearer gives verdict on Marcus Rashford's Barcelona loan move

'Depends on him' - Alan Shearer gives verdict on Marcus Rashford's Barcelona loan move

Marcus Rashford will spend the 2025/26 season on loan at Barcelona after leaving Man United.

Marcus Rashford will spend this season at Barcelona. (Image: Josep Lago/AFP via Getty Images.)

Former Newcastle United and England striker Alan Shearer believes Marcus Rashford's move to Barcelona could give him the chance to "kickstart his career again".

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The Manchester United attacker joined Barcelona on loan earlier this week and will spend the duration of the 2025/26 campaign at the La Liga champions.

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Barcelona had long since appealed to Rashford as his preferred destination this summer after it became clear he had no place in United head coach Ruben Amorim's plans. He spent the second half of last season on loan at Aston Villa after being frozen out by the United boss.

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Wanting to join a club who could offer him Champions League football, Rashford, who will have his wages covered by Barcelona, will be itching to make his mark in Spain and make up for lost time.

"It could be a huge move for Marcus Rashford," Shearer told Betfair. "That all depends on him.

"I guess, and he probably thinks that it's time for a reset and if he can forget what's gone on in the past, the good and the bad, then he's got a great opportunity to kickstart his career again.

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"It doesn't get much bigger than Barcelona, so Hansi Flick and the club clearly believe in him, they're paying his full salary and there's a clause at the end of the loan if they want to sign him on a permanent basis, so what an opportunity for Marcus to have a career reset.

"That's what he must do and that has to be the mentality. Only he can answer whether he gets back in the England squad. I don't know him personally, what his state of mind is in terms of where he feels he is, but I guess the whole Barcelona project believe they can get the best out of him otherwise they wouldn't be paying the £300,000-odd per week for him."

Rashford's attitude and mentality has been called into question once too often in recent years, prompting concerns from some corners. However, Shearer believes Barcelona will have done their due diligence before signing him.

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Marcus Rashford has not played for Manchester United since last December. (Image: Alex Livesey/Getty Images.)

Shearer continued: "I guess they've done their homework, sat down with him and they feel it's a chance worth taking.

"It could be an expensive one or it could be a great signing. I don't know is the answer.

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"We've seen flashes of his best at Aston Villa. They chose not to sign him permanently for whatever reason.

"Barcelona believe they can get the very best out of him and if they can, it could turn out to be a shrewd signing.

"But you also have to look at it and think it's a little bit of a gamble because we've not seen anywhere near the heights that he hit all those years ago for a long time now. Only Marcus knows where he is mentally and physically."

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