Barcelona rule out triggering Marcus Rashford's buy option before summer as sporting director reveals alternative January transfer plans

Rashford’s Barcelona career is off to a flying start following his summer loan from United. After years of inconsistency in the Premier League with the Red Devils, the English winger has finally rediscovered his spark at the Catalan club under Hansi Flick. Rashford's blistering pace, improved decision-making, and renewed confidence were on full display during last month's El Clasico, where he set up Fermin Lopez’s goal, and also in his Champions League brace against Olympiacos.

The 28-year-old’s resurgence has been aided by Brazilian winger Raphinha’s injury troubles since the start of the 2025-26 campaign, which opened the door for Rashford to become the club’s first-choice left winger. He has made the role his own, striking an immediate connection with the likes of Ferran Torres and Lopez in Flick’s fluid attacking system.

The Englishman’s turnaround has not gone unnoticed, with Barcelona officials already in talks to activate the option-to-buy clause included in his loan deal with United. He has also made a comeback to the England national team and looks set to make Thomas Tuchel's World Cup squad next year.

Despite Rashford's impressive performance, Barcelona will not trigger the buy option in his contract in January as the club are not in a healthy position financially. Speaking at Camp Nou's reopening for a training session, sporting director Deco said: "If we are doing well and there are no surprises, I don't think it's necessary. We know exactly where we can improve and the difficulties we face. Last season, we also went through some difficult moments and we were able to overcome them.

"When we lower the intensity, we suffer. We need to have the best players. There are no excuses, but when you can't make changes because of injuries and they affect our midfield. There are things to improve even when we win."

After scoring in the Blaugrana's 3-1 win over Elche last weekend, Rashford admitted that he is capable of performing even better as he told reporters: "I try to give my best. I could have done better against Elche and I promise to improve, but I'm generally happy with my performance. It's a very important win. It's always important, after a defeat, to win the next game; that's the most important thing. In my opinion, if I do things right on the pitch and with the team, I'll always be able to score and create goals. My goal is to connect with my team-mates and feel in sync with them, and that's exactly how I feel right now.

"We work hard to win. We're taking it one game at a time. We need to keep playing as a team. This is Barca , and the demands must always be at their highest. It's true we have a lot of injuries, but that's football, and the same eleven players won't win every game. We must keep playing as one team and show fighting spirit and unity."

Speaking on Rashford's performance, Flick had said: "When you see the chances he has, one or two goals more will be good, also for him. But we can be happy with him, of course. I am very happy with him. He can play on this level and I am happy he shows it, for the fans and for the club, and also for the teammates he is a very important player."

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