Marcus Rashford - what does future hold for Barcelona's England striker?

Breaking news from the world of sport: Marcus Rashford - what does future hold for Barcelona's England striker? Image source, Getty ImagesImage caption, Marcus Rashford scored the opeing goal for Barcelona against Real MadridBySimon Stone Manchester United reporterPublished6 minutes agoByElizabeth ConwaySpanish football reporter"I don't know, I am not a magician. If I was, I would stay.

"Marcus Rashford's response to a question about his Barcelona future after he had scored a wonderful, Beckham-esque free-kick to set the Catalan giants on their way to a title-winning El Clasico victory over Real Madrid, was vague, but accurate. As it presently stands, Rashford does not know whether he will return to Barca next season. He wants it to happen.

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It makes sense for all parties. But, as one source said ,"it will involve a lot of hard negotiating". The current situationRashford is a Manchester United player.

He has a contract that runs to 30 June 2028. When Casemiro's contract expires on 30 June this year, he will be the club's highest earner, with his salary benefiting from the restoration of the 25% that had been taken off because of last season's failure to qualify for the Champions League. His loan deal with Barcelona includes an option to make the transfer permanent for €30m (£25.

94m) if it is triggered by 15 June. That is the easy bit. From there it starts to get complicated.

Reactions and Expectations

On the face of it, making the deal permanent makes sense for all parties. Rashford has done pretty well; 14 goals and 14 assists in 47 appearances. It was enough to earn him an England recall from Thomas Tuchel and, in all probability, a spot in the final 26-man World Cup squad.

He enjoys playing for Barcelona and would like to stay. While Barca have other targets this summer, they would be signing a player for well under market value. Manchester United meanwhile would be washing their hands of someone who was in Ruben Amorim's 'bomb squad' last summer.

However, Barcelona are apparently unwilling to execute the transfer and are trying to renegotiate, potentially to sign Rashford next season on another loan deal. United have indicated they are not prepared to do that. It is an understandable position for United, who know they could get more for Rashford from other clubs.

The story has climbed to the top of the sports agenda, with fans and analysts following closely.