Barcelona's Interest in Rashford Grows After Gordon Signing

When Barcelona unveiled Anthony Gordon earlier in the summer, it felt like the curtain call for Marcus Rashford’s brief but electric Catalan chapter.

He had done almost everything right on loan. Goals, assists, big performances in big games – 28 goal contributions across all competitions. Yet when it came to the crunch, Barcelona walked away from the €30 million option and turned to a younger, longer-term bet in Gordon. Rashford, suddenly, was back at Old Trafford with his future clouded in doubt.

Barcelona keep the line open

His story with Barça, though, is not filed away just yet.

According to TEAMtalk, the Catalan club have stayed in touch with Rashford’s camp, quietly testing the waters while they reassess an attack that has been stripped and reshaped in a matter of weeks. The idea inside the club has long been clear: if Rashford returns, they want him on loan.

That preference collided head-on with Manchester United’s stance. With two years left on his contract and as the club’s highest-paid player, United have insisted on a permanent deal rather than another temporary move. That hard line is precisely why Barcelona initially stepped back, despite his output last season and his comfort in the dressing room.

So Rashford flew back to Manchester, where Michael Carrick has brought him back into the first-team fold. He trains, he plays, he smiles for the cameras. But no one at Old Trafford is pretending the situation is fully settled. A late move before the window shuts still sits on the table – and Barcelona are very much seated at that table.

A growing problem in attack

The need in Catalonia has only sharpened since last season ended.

Rashford went back to England. Robert Lewandowski moved on. Ferran Torres followed him out. Roony Bardghji then suffered a season-ending injury, stripping yet another attacking option from the squad.

Gordon is in. Karim Adeyemi has arrived too. It still doesn’t feel enough for a club that expects to go deep on multiple fronts. Inside Barcelona, the message is simple: the rebuild in attack is ongoing.

That is where Rashford re-enters the conversation. He knows the club, he knows the city, and by all accounts he would jump at the chance to return. The complication lies 1,500 kilometres away. There is no clarity yet on whether United would soften their position and accept a loan, even one with a built-in obligation to buy.

Alvarez first, Rashford waiting

His fate is also tangled up in another chase.

Barcelona are locked on to Julian Alvarez as a priority target. Negotiations continue, but Atletico Madrid have planted their feet and shown no sign of easing their stance. That stalemate has started to squeeze Barcelona’s room for manoeuvre.

If Alvarez remains out of reach, the picture changes quickly. Rashford, once deemed too expensive for a permanent punt and too complicated for a loan, would immediately climb the list of alternatives.

For now, he pulls on a United shirt, his status debated behind closed doors at Carrington and in the corridors of power at Old Trafford. Barcelona, watching closely from a distance, have made one thing clear: if the door opens even slightly, they are ready to walk back through it and reignite one of the most intriguing transfer stories of the summer.