Sports World

It's official, Marcus Rashford is heading back to Manchester United. Speaking after his team's 1-1 friendly draw with Paris Saint-Germain in Sweden on Saturday, Michael Carrick confirmed that Rashford will join up with the squad for the next phase of their pre-season campaign in the Republic of Ireland, alongside England team-mate Kobbie Mainoo and Lisandro Martinez.

"I've played with him. I played in the game he made his debut, so we have a history," Carrick said. "We have got a full squad this week in Dublin. We fly straight there and have a few days where we have the whole group back together. Marcus is part of that, and Kobbie and Lisandro. We look forward to seeing them."

Rashford could be handed some minutes when United taken on Premier League rivals Leeds at Croke Park on Wednesday, and will also be available for the club's final pre-season outing against AC Milan in Poland three days later, which will see Ruben Amorim come up against his former employers. Amorim was sacked by United in January, and deservedly so, after just 14 months in the dugout, having alienated the players and fans alike with his rigid tactical set-up and bizarre in-game decisions.

But he didn't get everything wrong. Amorim's handling of Rashford was especially strong, and it set the tone for a change in culture that Carrick has benefitted from. The new United boss must now be very careful he doesn't undo that good work by giving Rashford another chance he doesn't deserve.

Rashford's standards began dipping at United in the 2023-24 campaign under Erik ten Hag, after been handed a new contract that made him the club's highest-paid player, as he breached disciplinary rules set down by the Dutchman on three occasions, most infamously by calling in sick to training after a two-night alcohol-fuelled trip to Belfast.

Ten Hag was relieved of his duties in October 2024 after United slid to 14th in the Premier League table, with Amorim swiftly lured away from Sporting CP as his replacement. Rashford responded to the change well initially, scoring three goals in Amorim's first two games in charge, but he then put in a dismal display against Victoria Plzen in the Europa League that led to him being substituted before the hour mark.

Amorim proceeded to leave Rashford out of the squad for a huge derby meeting with Manchester City, which United won 2-1, and gave a clear indication that the forward's application levels were not up to scratch when saying after the game: "You understand for so long we try something with Rash, it doesn't work. Let's continue to do the same thing or try something different? When we want to change a lot of things, when people in the club are losing their jobs, they have to fight for their place in the team."

Suffice it to say, Rashford was in no mood to "fight". Instead, he came out two days later to publicly declare he wanted a "new challenge" in an interview with Henry Winter, effectively pushing for a January move away from the club. In that moment, he burned his bridges with a large section of the United faithful, who had stood by him unconditionally after his graduation from the academy in 2016. Rashford betrayed their trust at a time when the team needed him most, and winning it back after 19 months out of the picture will take some doing.

Barcelona's swoop for Rashford made sense after they decided against pursuing more expensive deals for Luis Diaz and Nico Williams. They did have to cover 75% of his reported £325,000 per week wage packet, but it was still a calculated gamble as head coach Hansi Flick sought to add greater depth to his frontline.

Rashford showed he was worth the investment, registering a combined 28 goals and assists in 49 appearances across all competitions as Barca retained La Liga and the Spanish Super Cup. He even scored the goal that effectively clinched the league crown against Clasico rivals Real Madrid, firing an unstoppable free kick into the top corner past the helpless Thibaut Courtois.

"I appreciate working with him," Flick said when reflecting on Rashford's time at the Camp Nou this week. "He is a fantastic player and a fantastic person. The team will miss him, I will miss him, but it is life."

However, Rashford could only be certain of a starting spot when Raphinha was unavailable due to injury, and didn't bring the same value to the team from the left flank. Indeed, the Brazilian scored five more goals than Rashford despite playing sixteen fewer matches, and averaged 2.10 defensive actions in La Liga compared to the United loanee's total of 1.45.

Raphinha offered Barcelona more creativity and penetration on the ball and greater intensity and discipline off it. Had the former Leeds man been fully fit all season, Rashford probably would have amounted to little more than a squad player.

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