Manchester United move almost “caused chaos” at European club before transfer fell through

According to a new report, Marcus Rashford’s Manchester United loan almost “caused chaos” at a European club before the transfer eventually fell through.

Marcus Rashford has completed a six-month loan move to Aston Villa, with the 27-year-old seeking a fresh challenge away from Manchester United.

Once the focal point of United’s attack, Rashford hit 30 goals under Erik ten Hag in the 2022/23 season. However, his form has since declined, and he struggled for game time under Rúben Amorim.

With Amad and Bruno Fernandes now key figures, Rashford had not featured for United in over six weeks before making the switch to Villa Park.

A product of United’s academy, he burst onto the scene at 18 with a stunning debut, scoring twice against FC Midtjylland in the Europa League before adding another brace against Arsenal in the Premier League.

Since then, he has made over 420 appearances for United, scoring 138 goals and registering 63 assists, while winning five major trophies.

Rashford’s loan almost caused chaos at Barcelona

Although Rashford will be spending the remainder of this season at Birmingham, reports suggest that his initial preference was to join La Liga giants Barcelona.

Despite talks between Rashford’s camp and the Catalan club, the move fell through as they could not guarantee paying for his wages without risking punishment from La Liga due to their current finances striggles.

However, according to Barça Reservat, although Barcelona did want the player, the idea of Rashford joining was set to cause chaos at the club as the dressing room was avidly against his signing.

There were fears that, had Rashford signed, new contract talks for important players such as Ronald Araujo, Pedri, and Gavi would have to have been put on hold, and it was only once the window closed that this trio were able to sign extensions, suggesting that this was a valid worry.

It is detailed that Barcelona missing out on Rashford could be seen as a blessing in disguise for the club, while Rashford himself will be able to flourish in the Premier League at Aston Villa.

Why Amorim let Rashford leave

While Rashford has been the focal point of United’s attack for a number of seasons, Amorim recently explained that he let the player leave because he was unable to show Rashford the style of football he wanted.

Read More: Rúben Amorim left “shocked” at something Manchester United stars keep doing, Ruud van Nistelrooy spoke about it

Speaking on Thursday afternoon, Amorim said: “As a journalist or a fan, you can take this in the way that you want and you can take whatever you want.

“What I say is that I couldn’t put Marcus to see the way you’re supposed to play football and to train the way I see it. And sometimes you have one player that is really good with one coach, and the same player with another coach is different.

“I just wish the best to Rashford and to Unai Emery and they can connect because he’s a very, very good player.”

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