Manchester United board already ‘regret’ £26m transfer ‘mistake’

Manchester United’s hierarchy ‘regret’ agreeing to sell Marcus Rashford for just £26m and believe the Barcelona loanee is now worth double that amount.

Ruben Amorim sanctioned Rashford’s loan move to Barcelona last summer after placing the England international in his ‘bomb squad’.

Rashford made over 400 appearances for his boyhood club and enjoyed some prolific campaigns, scoring 30 goals under Erik ten Hag and also impressing for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.

But the England forward fell out of favour under Amorim during the 2024-25 season and finished that campaign on loan at Aston Villa.

Villa were keen to sign Rashford on a permanent transfer but the 28-year-old made Barcelona his dream destination after the La Liga champions expressed interest in a deal.

As part of the loan, Manchester United agreed to sell Rashford to Barcelona permanently for just £26m.

That was seen as a relatively low fee at the time and Rashford’s productive spell in Spain has only increased speculation that Barcelona pulled off a significant coup.

Rashford is loving his time at the Nou Camp and has almost reached double figures for both goals and assists for Barca, who are second in La Liga and through to the knockout stages of the Champions League.

According to the Daily Star, Manchester United already ‘regret’ their deal with Barcelona and believe they could have got almost £50m for Rashford this summer.

United decided to get Rashford off the books at Old Trafford but suspect Barcelona have secured a cheap deal.

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Other clubs have taken note of Rashford’s form in Spain and would likely have been prepared to pay up to £50m for a player of his calibre.

It has even been reported that Barcelona could try and take more money off the deal given Rashford’s desire to stay put, but they are reportedly satisfied with the £26m fee.

Other reports suggested Manchester United caretaker boss Michael Carrick was keen to bring Rashford back to the Theatre of Dreams should he get the permanent job.

Carrick’s former United teammate Louis Saha ‘loves’ Rashford but believes it would be a mistake from both parties to reunite at the end of the season.

‘It’s a difficult one because I love Rashford, I love his quality,’ Saha told CasinoHawks. ‘I’m not surprised that he’s doing well at Barcelona.

‘He can’t rewrite what happened before, and this is the best version of him we’re seeing now. I think sometimes you need to move on.

‘If he comes back it wouldn’t completely erase everything that happened, there are bad memories there and that’s not something he’s dealing with at Barcelona.

‘I think it would be strange. I think sometimes you need to move on. A lot has been said and it seems to be the best place for him, Barcelona.

‘Yes, he’s a talented player, and maybe his return can be considered. But even as a big fan of his, I’m not sure it would help the club.’

Rashford’s Barcelona return to La Liga action on Sunday against Levante, while his parent club Manchester United face Everton on Monday night.

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