Barcelona’s sporting director, Deco, has shared his thought on why Marcus Rashford suffered during his last few months at Manchester United.
Rashford has impressed since securing a loan move to Barcelona from United in the summer. The 27-year-old has scored six goals in 18 appearances for La Blaugrana so far and has not shown any sign of slowing down.
While there are hopes he could join on a permanent deal, Deco revealed that Rashford’s resurgence is due to the fact that he’s enjoying playing without the pressure of performing for United.
Marcus Rashford plays during the La Liga match between FC Barcelona and Deportivo Alaves. (Photo by Gongora/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Speaking with The Times, Deco confirmed that Rashford was particularly keen on joining Barca. He added that Rashford has enjoyed his time with the club, as he is relieved of the pressure of being the main man for United.
Deco said when asked about Rashford’s revival at Barca: “He’s happy with us. Marcus is a fantastic player. He faced the responsibility of becoming an important player at Man United — United, like us, are one of the biggest clubs in the world — too young. He suffered a bit with this change of generation at United too. If you see United in the last five years, they had difficulties rebuilding the team, to become stronger again. He was there. So it’s not easy for a player [from whom] people demand a lot. When you are an important player, you have a lot of responsibility.
“We were looking for a player like him on the market. A player that could play in the three positions up front. We were able to sign Marcus on loan now because of his desire to play for Barcelona. He waited a lot. He knew that we were dealing with financial rules. But he was patient. He waited and we’re happy to have him.”
Rashford has spoken about his desire to stay in Spain on a permanent deal but his future at the club depend on their ongoing financial difficulties.
Barcelona currently sit atop the table, with a one-point lead over their rival Real Madrid. However, they host Atletico Madrid at the recently re-opened Camp Nou next on December 2.
