FC Barcelona 'accelerating' plans to buy cut-price Marcus Rashford with new position in mind
Barcelona are pushing hard in their attempts to sign Manchester United's Marcus Rashford, with superagent Pini Zahavi brokering the deal.
This is according to Sacha Tavolieri of Sky Sports Switzerland, who has provided an important update on the future of the United star this morning.
Advertisement
Tavolieri says Barça 'want to accelerate' their pursuit of the Wythenshawe man and that 'discussions have already been held this week between the player's entourage, super-agent Pini Zahavi, and FC Barcelona to lay the groundwork for a personal agreement.'
It has been previously reported that Rashford is desperate to sign for the Blaugrana, with some reports claiming the Catalans have asked him to refuse all other clubs to try to force United to loan him to them.
However, Tavolieri reports that it is a transfer rather than a loan that is under discussion, with the stumbling block being Rashford's exorbitant wages.
'Although Rashford's salary at Manchester United is difficult for Barça to achieve, [Barça president] Joan Laporta's idea is to extend the contract from four to five years in order to align with the player's entourage's demands and thus make the offer economically viable,' the reporter claims.
Advertisement
The reporter also insists that United will not get the £40 million for Rashford that they had agreed with Aston Villa, who took the 27 year old on loan for six months last season.
Barcelona are expecting to pay between €35m and €40 million, equivalent to between £29 million and £33 million.
It's a figure that will disappoint both Ineos and United fans for a player whose market value is €50 million / £42 million as per transfermarkt.com.
The report also claims that Rashford has also got an idea in mind of where he expects to fit in Hansi Flick's system.
This is to play up top in the number nine role, 'to free up space on the wings to allow Raphinha and Lamine Yamal to be even more effective.' In other words, Rashford is looking to be Robert Lewandowski's successor at the Camp Nou.
Advertisement
It is natural for Rashford to want to play in one of the best teams in Europe, but that very issue – how he will usurp any of the superb forwards already at the club to claim a regular first team spot – is one that he could find harder to resolve than he imagines. The most likely scenario is that Rashford will be a squad player at the Camp Nou.
Whatever the case, for United the priority is to get the deal done and get some cash in for the wantaway star. Whether they will be willing to accept £33 million, only time will tell, but it does not feel like a situation that is going to be easy to 'accelerate', whatever Barcelona might think.
Featured image Julian Finney via Getty Images
Follow us on Bluesky: @peoplesperson.bsky.social
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
San Francisco Chronicle
2 hours ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
Bruno Fernandes turns down lucrative Al Hilal offer to stay at Man United
MUNICH (AP) — Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes has turned down a proposed move to Saudi club Al Hilal because he wants 'to play at the highest possible level.' Fernandes confirmed Tuesday that he had received an 'exciting offer' from the Riyadh-based club to switch after what was a disappointing season for United. 'They waited for me to think about my future, because I said only if Manchester thought it was the time to move on, that I'd be willing to do so,' Fernandes said through an interpreter. 'I talked to the gaffer, Ruben Amorim, and at the time he asked me not to go. I then talked to Man United. They said they didn't want to sell me. If I wanted to go, I could, but they didn't need the money, they didn't need to sell me.' Media reports suggested Al Hilal was prepared to pay 100 million pounds ($135 million) to take the 30-year-old Fernandes from United while offering him a wage of 700,000 pounds ($946,000) per week to play for the Saudi Pro League team, which will compete in the Club World Cup this month in the United States. 'It was a very exciting offer,' Fernandes said. 'The president of Al Hilal, he was very nice to me. He talked to my manager but then I talked to my wife and as a family we wanted to see what I wanted to do. She asked me, what do you want to do with your future?' Fernandes last year signed a contract extension to stay at Old Trafford until June 2027. This season did not go as planned as the Red Devils failed to qualify for the Champions League after finishing 15th in the Premier League, while United also endured the heartbreak of losing the Europa League final to Tottenham. 'We had goals and we didn't meet them,' said Fernandes, a key figure for United since his arrival in January 2020. He said it would have been easy for the family to make the move to Riyadh, and for him to adjust to the team with Portugal teammates Rúben Neves and João Cancelo already playing for Al Hilal. 'I'm used to them, but I want to play at the highest possible level," Fernandes said. "I want play for major competitions. I know I still can, and I want to be happy doing the thing I love the most. And for better or worse, I'm still very passionate about football. This is how I see football. This is how I see my life and my future, and I'm happy about the decision I made.' Fernandes was speaking as a Portugal player before the team's Nations League semifinal against Germany on Wednesday in Munich. The winner of that game will face either France or Spain in Sunday's final.
Fox Sports
3 hours ago
- Fox Sports
Bruno Fernandes turns down lucrative Al Hilal offer to stay at Man United
Associated Press MUNICH (AP) — Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes has turned down a proposed move to Saudi club Al Hilal because he wants 'to play at the highest possible level.' Fernandes confirmed Tuesday that he had received an 'exciting offer' from the Riyadh-based club to switch after what was a disappointing season for United. 'They waited for me to think about my future, because I said only if Manchester thought it was the time to move on, that I'd be willing to do so,' Fernandes said through an interpreter. 'I talked to the gaffer, Ruben Amorim, and at the time he asked me not to go. I then talked to Man United. They said they didn't want to sell me. If I wanted to go, I could, but they didn't need the money, they didn't need to sell me.' Media reports suggested Al Hilal was prepared to pay 100 million pounds ($135 million) to take the 30-year-old Fernandes from United while offering him a wage of 700,000 pounds ($946,000) per week to play for the Saudi Pro League team, which will compete in the Club World Cup this month in the United States. 'It was a very exciting offer,' Fernandes said. 'The president of Al Hilal, he was very nice to me. He talked to my manager but then I talked to my wife and as a family we wanted to see what I wanted to do. She asked me, what do you want to do with your future?' Fernandes last year signed a contract extension to stay at Old Trafford until June 2027. This season did not go as planned as the Red Devils failed to qualify for the Champions League after finishing 15th in the Premier League, while United also endured the heartbreak of losing the Europa League final to Tottenham. 'We had goals and we didn't meet them,' said Fernandes, a key figure for United since his arrival in January 2020. He said it would have been easy for the family to make the move to Riyadh, and for him to adjust to the team with Portugal teammates Ruben Neves and Joao Cancelo already playing for Al Hilal. 'I'm used to them, but I want to play at the highest possible level," Fernandes said. "I want play for major competitions. I know I still can, and I want to be happy doing the thing I love the most. And for better or worse, I'm still very passionate about football. This is how I see football. This is how I see my life and my future, and I'm happy about the decision I made.' Fernandes was speaking as a Portugal player before the team's Nations League semifinal against Germany on Wednesday in Munich. The winner of that game will face either France or Spain in Sunday's final. ___ AP soccer: recommended in this topic
Forbes
3 hours ago
- Forbes
Why Does Maje From Netflix Hit ‘A Widow's Game' Look So Familiar?
Ivanna Baquero in "A Widow's Game." Ivana Baquero — the star of Netflix's No. 1 movie A Widow's Game — got her showbiz break in 2006 thanks a lead role in a Guillermo del Toro classic. What else has she starred in? Baquero stars as Maje in the A Widow's Game, which is currently the No. 1 film on the streamer's top 10 list of movies on the platform in the U.S. Netflix reported Tuesday that A Widow's Game also earned spots on Top 10 most-watched movie lists in 90 countries worldwide, amassing 15.4 million views since its debut on the streaming service on Friday, May 30. A Widow's Game is based on the real-life case known as "The Black Widow of Patraix.' The official summary for the film reads, 'August 2017. In a parking lot in Valencia appears the body of a man, stabbed seven times. Everything points to a crime of passion. Ivanna Baquero in "A Widow's Game." 'The Homicide Group of the city, with a veteran inspector at the head, starts an investigation against the clock that soon leads them to a suspect that no one expected: Maje, the young widow, sweet and serene, who had been married to the victim for less than a year.' Born June 11, 1994, in Barcelona, Spain, Baquero made her screen debut in a supporting role in the 2004 Spanish-UK supernatural thriller Romasanta, which was followed by roles in two more feature films and two TV movies. Baquero's breakthrough role, however, happened in 2006 when del Toro cast the young actor in the lead role in a film that went on to receive six Oscar nominations at the 2007 Academy Awards. Set in 1944, Pan's Labyrinth stars Ivana Baquero as Ofelia, a 10-year-old girl who moves with her ailing, pregnant mother, Carmen (Ariadna Gil) to the Spanish countryside to live with Carmen's new husband, the brutal military dictator Captain Vidal (Sergi López). As Ofelia befriends a mythical creature known as the Faun (Doug Jones), she learns that she is a reincarnated princess who is saddled with completely three daunting tasks before she can once again assume the throne. Jones also plays the haunting creature the Pale Man in the film. Director Guillermo Del Toro and cast members Maribel Verdun, Ivana Baquero, Ariadna Gil, Sergi Lopez ... More and Alfonso Cuaron at the photocall of "El laberinto del fauno" during the 59th Cannes Film Festival. (Photo by Eddy LEMAISTRE/Corbis via Getty Images) Produced in Spain, Pan's Labyrinth was nominated for six Oscars in 2007, including Best Foreign Language Film, Best Original Score for Javier Navarette and Best Original Screenplay for Guillermo del Toro. Pan's Labyrinth won Oscars in the three other categories it was nominated in, including Best Makeup, Best Cinematography and Best Art Direction. Baquero was also honored for her role as Ofelia, winning the Best New Actress honor at the Goya Awards, which is Spain's equivalent to the Oscars. Baquero also won a Saturn Award for Best Performance by a Younger Actor from the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films, USA and was nominated for Best Young Actress at the 2007 Critics Choice Awards. Based on the best-selling The Sword of Shannara Trilogy of books by Terry Brooks, The Shannara Chronicles stars Ivana Baquero as Eretria opposites future Elvis and Dune: Part Two star Austin Butler. In the series, Eretria is a human who teams with the Elven Princess Amberle (Poppy Drayton) and a half-human/half-elf, Wil (Butler) to fend off demons from taking over the environs known as the Four Lands. Created by Wednesday creators Alfred Gough and Miles Millar, The Shannara Chronicles ran for two seasons on MTV from 2016 to 2017. The series also starred James Remar (Dexter) and John Rhys-Davies (The Lord of the Rings/Indiana Jones series). Alejandra Onieva and Ivanna Baquero in "High Seas." A Netflix original Spanish series, High Seas stars Ivana Baquero as Eve Villanueva and Alejandra Onieva as her sister, Carolina, who while on a luxury cruise from Spain to Brazil in the 1940s investigate a series of mysterious murders aboard the ship. High Seas ran for three seasons on Netflix from 2019 to 2020. The first and second seasons each featured eight episodes, while the third season concluded the series with six episodes. Ivana Baquero stars opposite Evil Dead icon Bruce Campbell in the horror comedy Black Friday as Marnie, one of a small group of a large retail toy store who must fight off blood-thirsty shoppers infected with a parasites as the annual day-after-Thanksgiving sale gets underway. Black Friday also stars Devon Sawa (the first movie in the Final Destination franchise) and Michael Jai White (The Dark Knight). A Widow's Tale, starring Ivana Baquero, is now streaming exclusively on Netflix.
