Hansi Flick confirms Marcus Rashford change as Barcelona get what they want after Man United move
Marcus Rashford has made a subtle change to his game at Barcelona which has pleased head coach Hansi Flick following his loan move from Manchester United
Marcus Rashford in action for Barcelona(Image: Getty Images)
Hansi Flick has revealed that Marcus Rashford has “adapted” to his Barcelona team as rumours continue to swirl around his future at Camp Nou.
The England international joined Barca on a season-long loan from Manchester United last summer and he has impressed in his time at the club, scoring 11 goals and providing 13 assists in 40 appearances across all competitions.
And Rashford helped Barca extend their lead at the top of the La Liga table as he the netted the opener in a 2-1 win against Atletico Madrid on Saturday. Giuliano Simeone had put Atletico ahead, but Rashford soon equalised before Robert Lewandowski struck the winner three minutes from time.
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Barca have a £26million option to buy Rashford at the end of the season but it’s unclear whether the club are prepared to trigger that and make his loan move permanent.
Despite this, Flick praised Rashford in his pre-match press conference on Tuesday as Barca prepared to host Atletico in the Champions League quarter-final first leg. Indeed, the ex-Bayern Munich boss hailed the fact Rashford has improved his defensive pressing and hinted that he could be handed another start.
“It’s not just about pressing with the ball, you also have to defend, but he’s (Rashford) doing things well and has adapted,” Flick said. “We’re going to play against Atletico and they’re good on the wings.”
It comes a matter of days after Flick said he was “very happy” with Rashford’s performances following his goal in the win at Atletico.
Marcus Rashford scored for Barcelona against Atletico Madrid on Saturday(Image: Europa Press via Getty Images)
“I’m very happy with Marcus,” the German said. “He has shown his quality and he scored an important goal. I can’t say anything about his future, we have to focus on the matches until the end of the season.”
Rashford has not played for United since December 2024, and lost his No.10 shirt to Matheus Cunha under former head coach Ruben Amorim last summer.
Before that, Amorim said he would rather name his 63-year-old goalkeeping coach as a substitute than a player who does not give his all, in response to a question about Rashford.
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He spent the second half of last season on loan at Aston Villa and was forced to train at a separate time from United’s first-team players in the summer before he joined Barca.
And speaking to ESPN at the end of 2025, Rashford made it clear he wants to join Barca on a permanent deal this summer. “Oh yeah, for sure,” the forward replied when asked if he wanted to stay at the Catalan club.
“I’m enjoying this football club and I think for anybody who loves football, Barcelona is one of the key clubs in the history of the game. For a player it is an honour.”
