The great Manchester United 2025 summer transfer window forwards selloff has begun; sort of. United are saddled with some really bad contracts, for attacking players who will simply never suit up for them again. They need to move out all this deadweight before deadline day, and Marcus Rashford is the first one on the move. He’s set for a loan deal at FC Barcelona, his first choice destination.
As we detailed already, earlier on this summer, it will likely be loan deals, not permanent sales for these guys (Jadon Sancho, Antony and Alejandro Garnacho are the other three, beyond Rashford).
🚨🔵🔴 BREAKING: Marcus Rashford to Barcelona, here we go! 🏴
Verbal agreement in principle between all parties involved with Barça planning for medical tests next days.
Loan deal with buy option, details being finalised today then Man Utd will authorize his travel to Spain. ✈️ pic.twitter.com/Hp4sZNBCRv
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) July 19, 2025
That’s because all these players were signed or extended on very over-bloated transfer fees, with way over-priced salaries that no other club will pay. Hence loan deals will be the route to go, with the potential of a permanent sale later on. Rashford spent the back half of this past season on loan at Aston Villa, but as ESPN FC points out, it “failed to develop into a permanent transfer at a pre-agreed fee of £40 million ($53.6m).”
We’ll see what happens here, because, as transfer guru Fabrizio Romano pointed out, there is no obligation to buy on Barcelona’s end. There is an option, not an obligation.
Meanwhile Rashford still has three years remaining on his United deal, which pays him a whopping £325,000 per week.
So you can see why other clubs want Rashford, but they don’t want to pay for him. The chances that Rashford makes a permanent move to Catalonia, after his loan deal expires, are not great.
Paul M. Banks is the Founding Editor of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He currently contributes to USA Today’s NFL Wires Network. His past bylines include the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune. His work has been featured in numerous outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, the Washington Post and ESPN. You can follow him on Linked In and Twitter