Aston Villa’s unwillingness to purchase Marcus Rashford outright left the Englishman in a state of flux, with Ruben Amorim making it clear that he had no future at Old Trafford.
Rashford only signed his lucrative new contract extension in 2023, but that deal has proven to be somewhat of a poisoned chalice for the 27-year-old.
With his form wavering in the aftermath and questions emerging over his off-field behaviour, Rashford is no longer a desirable asset in the eyes of the Manchester United manager. Moreover, his sky-high salary has rendered the risk great for those willing to take the forward off the Red Devils’ hands.
Villa offered brief respite, and Barcelona are the next club to present Rashford with potential rejuvenation. However, few would’ve suspected the La Liga champions to be in for the England international, given their documented financial woes, which have emerged as a source of widespread mockery.
Nevertheless, Barcelona have taken the plunge, acquiring Rashford on an initial loan. Still, plenty of rejigging is necessary if the Blaugrana are to register their new asset for the 2025–26 season.
Barcelona had registration issues last summer and winter with Dani Olmo, and the main reason why the club failed in their pursuit of Nico Williams was because they were unwilling to include an exit clause in the winger’s contract if he couldn’t be registered for the upcoming campaign.
As it stands, Barça cannot register any of their summer signings, with Rashford joining Joan García, Roony Bardghji and Wojciech Szczęsny at the arrivals desk.
During 2024–25, the Blaugrana spent more on players (including transfer fees and wages) than they made in revenue, meaning they’re over La Liga’s 1:1 salary limit.
While Barcelona did not pay a fee to sign Rashford and the player is willing to take a 15% pay cut, the forward will be expected to earn €14 million (£12.15 million, $16.4 million) in wages next season before the Catalans consider his reported £26 million ($35 million) buyout clause.
Lamine Yamal’s lucrative new extension has increased the club’s wage bill, and Andreas Christensen’s wages must also be accounted for in 2025–26 after 80% were written off last term due to his long-term injury.
Right now, it’s unclear when Barcelona will be able to register Rashford and their other new signings, but the club have worked their way around the issue before.
Barcelona have been active sellers at the start of the transfer window in a bid to balance their books. Álex Valle has joined Como, Pablo Torre signed for Mallorca, and much of Ansu Fati’s €14 million (£12.15 million, $16.4 million) salary was offloaded to Monaco for 2025–26, after he joined the Ligue 1 outfit on loan.
However, there’s still work to do. The club are keen on selling Christensen, but he doesn’t want to leave, and Marc-André ter Stegen following the addition of highly-rated Espanyol goalkeeper García. According to Capology, Christensen and Ter Stegen are due to earn €15.3 million (£13.3 million, $17.9 million) next season, and The Athletic states that Barcelona, “need space of around €28 million (£24.3 million, $32.8 million),” accounting for Rashford’s salary.
Selling players and offloading wages will be the club’s priority in their bid to register new players, but Joan Laporta will also hope that New Era Visionary Group pay the remaining €42 million (£36.4 million, $49 million) of the €70 million (£60.7 million, $81.8 million) they owe for their bulk investment in Barcelona’s 475 VIP boxes at their renovated Camp Nou.
More VIP seats at their new home could yet be sold by the club, and they recently agreed a training kit deal with the government of the Democratic Republic of Congo. This agreement is expected to bring in between €10 million (£8.7 million, $11.7 million) and €11.5 million (£10 million, $13.5 million) annually over the next four seasons.