As arguably one of the more important seasons of Marcus Rashford’s career loomed, it was Hansi Flick and Catalan giants Barcelona who may have revived any hopes of him making it to the World Cup, and Champions League brilliance against Newcastle was a great way to make his closing statement.
At the start of the season, Marcus Rashford, one of England’s longest serving international players looked way off any sort of contention for Thomas Tuchel’s upcoming 2026 World Cup squad after being exiled from Ruben Amorim’s Manchester United, but his sudden loan move over to Barcelona has completely flipped the script.
The Manchester United homegrown talent, and once star boy and poster boy of the club has been in a spot of bother with the club for the last couple of years, experiencing isolation from the first team and squad in general, however a short loan spell away from the club to Aston Villa last season was only the beginning of what would become his road to redemption in one of the most vital periods of his career.
Playing four games, scoring two goals, and assisting two for Villa last season, a way back into the United squad for the upcoming season seemed unlikely given the moves United and Amorim made this summer, eventually leading to his exit from the squad entirely to start the season. His career at Manchester United looked finished, and another loan move was on the horizon in order to give him just a slice of a chance at making the World Cup squad, but then came Barcelona.
On July 23rd, Rashford was finally shipped away from Manchester, joining Hansi Flick’s Barcelona on a season long loan, a place where his career revival looked a possibility, and now only a few games later, his career and World Cup chances look well on the up.
Scoring two on his Champions League debut with Barca alongside the likes of Robert Lewandowski was the perfect statement for the 27 year old to put out, and two vital goals which ultimately gave Barcelona a much needed opening win at St James’ park. After also being re-introduced into the England team during the international break, it looks like European football, and playing football at the highest level once again has made his job way easier headed towards the World Cup season, and his true talent is budding again, all thanks to Barcelona who really believed the old Marcus Rashford was always there.
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