Marcus Rashford faces an uncertain future as he is set to return to Manchester United next month after Barcelona opted against signing him permanently
Arsenal have cooled their interest in signing Marcus Rashford as the forward faces an uncertain future at Manchester United. Barcelona’s option to sign Rashford for €30m (£26m) has expired without them choosing to make the 28-year-old loan move a permanent switch.
United are now seeking a permanent buyer for Rashford, having shown no interest in renegotiating the terms of that loan option with Barcelona. Rashford has little interest in remaining with United, having broken ties with his hometown club to make a fresh start elsewhere.
But United have blocked him joining either Manchester City or Liverpool with a clause in his contract, who have shown interest in him before, while Arsenal have cooled on the idea of signing the England international.
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So with two years still remaining on his contract with United, as things stand, the 28-year-old is due to return to the club next month. Barca moved quickly to sign Anthony Gordon from Newcastle in a £70m deal at the start of the window.
And although Gordon’s move to the Catalan club was viewed by many as the end of Barca’s interest in signing Rashford on a permanent basis, the former Everton man recently revealed he held talks with his international team-mate over moving to Spain.
“He was just telling me how good the lads are there, the team spirit that they have, which I heard already from the people in Barca,” Gordon told eSPORTY.
“So I’m really looking forward to joining up with them. He was also telling me about the city, places to live. He’s a lovely guy, very caring. So he was just giving me a bit of information.”
Speaking back in October 2025, Rashford made it clear he wants to leave United permanently and stay at Barcelona beyond this season.
He told ESPN: “Oh yeah, for sure. I’m enjoying this football club and I think for anybody who loves football, Barcelona is one of the key clubs in the history of the game. For a player it’s an honour.”
Before he added: “People forget this, but 24, 23 years of my life was with Manchester United, so sometimes you just need a change. I think maybe this is the case with me and I’m enjoying everything.”
