Despite recent suggestions that Marcus Rashford was Barcelona’s third-choice option as they looked to sign a striker this summer, Mail Sport can reveal the Manchester United forward was always the player Barca sporting director Deco wanted to bring to the club.
The Spanish champions came close to signing the 27-year-old in January but their financial difficulties saw the deal fall through. Then, when it was back on track this summer, Nico Williams’s attempt to join Barca almost wrecked Rashford’s dream.
But now he can rest easy after leaving behind his life as a United cast-off to become Barcelona’s headline summer signing and their first Englishman since Gary Lineker left in 1989.