Joining Barcelona: Rashford's childhood dream

The deal between Barcelona and Manchester United includes an option to buy next summer, with a fee believed to be around €30 million ($34 million), although neither club has released financial details.

Rashford arrived in Barcelona on Sunday to complete his move, before the club leave for their pre-season tour. He will reportedly wear the number 14 shirt for the new season.

Join the Barca "family"

Speaking to Barca TV, Rashford said: “I am very excited to join Barcelona – a club with many big trophies and core values ​​that I feel attached to. I really feel like I am coming home. Barca is a family, everyone here is friendly and open. It is the perfect environment for players to show their talent.”

He also highlighted the role of coach Hansi Flick in the decision to move: “The conversation with coach Flick made everything more positive. What he did last season was impressive – leading a young team to a successful season and coming back with greater determination. That made me think of Barca – exactly as I expected.”

Sought after since the beginning of the year

According to ESPN, sporting director Deco revealed in May that Barcelona had been closely following Rashford since the winter transfer window. He was one of the priority names when the team wanted to add a left winger.

Initially, Barcelona were looking at other targets such as Nico Williams and Luis Diaz. However, Williams signed a new contract with Athletic Bilbao, and Liverpool refused to sell Diaz. This led Barca to turn to Rashford.

“Barca was the place I wanted to go from the beginning – maybe in January, but it didn’t work out. So I went to Aston Villa and had a good time there,” Rashford said.

Motivation to assert oneself

Although Barcelona currently has a quality attack including Lamine Yamal, Raphinha, Lewandowski, Ferran Torres and Dani Olmo, coach Hansi Flick still wants to strengthen his squad to aim for success in the Champions League - where they stopped in the semi-finals last season after losing to Inter Milan.

After falling out of Ruben Amorim's plans at United, Rashford has been training on his own for two weeks. He has not played since the Europa League match against Viktoria Plzen in December and was left out of the squad for the 2-1 Premier League derby win over Man City.

During the winter transfer window, Rashford was loaned to Aston Villa with a £40 million (about $53.6 million) buyout clause. However, according to many sources, he always prioritized joining Barcelona.

Rashford has three years left on his Manchester United contract, earning £325,000 a week. Since making his first-team debut in February 2016 at the age of 18, he has scored 138 goals in 426 games, winning trophies including the Europa League, FA Cup and Carabao Cup with the club.

Source: https://baovanhoa.vn/the-thao/gia-nhap-barcelona-giac-mo-thoi-nien-thieu-cua-rashford-156097.html