Manchester United and FC Barcelona club badges (Photo by Catherine Ivill, David Ramos/Getty Images)
Barcelona manager Hansi Flick has reportedly given the green light for the club to pursue a transfer deal for Manchester United forward Marcus Rashford.
That’s according to Sky Germany journalist Florian Plettenberg, who says that Rashford is now the top target for Barca as they seem to have decided to move on from Liverpool’s Luis Diaz.
Diaz had been Barcelona’s top target, but it seems the deal wasn’t possible, and now the full focus is on signing Rashford instead.
See below for Plettenberg’s post on X about Rashford and a potential transfer to Barcelona this summer as he seems certain to leave Man Utd…
??? As revealed on 6 July, the priority for FC Barcelona is Marcus #Rashford. Barca want to try again for Rashford and are prepared to go all-in.
A few weeks ago, Luis #Díaz was priority number one, as reported, but Liverpool rejected the approach. Rashford is now the clear… pic.twitter.com/LL3Kksjqhw
— Florian Plettenberg (@Plettigoal) July 11, 2025
Plettenberg posted: “As revealed on 6 July, the priority for FC Barcelona is Marcus #Rashford. Barca want to try again for Rashford and are prepared to go all-in. A few weeks ago, Luis #Diaz was priority number one, as reported, but Liverpool rejected the approach. Rashford is now the clear number one target. Talks are ongoing. Green light from Hansi Flick was already given days ago. The 27-year-old winger is set to leave Manchester United.”
Could Marcus Rashford be a good signing for Barcelona?
Rashford can be a world class player on his day, but it’s been a while since we’ve really seen him at anything like his best.
Rashford’s recent form
Games
Goals
Man Utd 2020/21
57
21
Man Utd 2021/22
32
5
Man Utd 2022/23
56
30
Man Utd 2023/24
43
8
Man Utd 2024/25
24
7
Aston Villa (loan) 2024/25
17
4
The England international has fallen out of favour at United and didn’t exactly set the world alight during a loan spell at Aston Villa last season either.
Still, maybe Barcelona feel they can get Rashford back to his best, while the 27-year-old might also benefit from the change of scene and the new challenge of playing abroad.
Will Liverpool keep Luis Diaz?
The other interesting story in this is that Liverpool seem to be really fighting to keep hold of Diaz despite a lot of interest.
Bayern Munich are also keen on the Colombia international, as per Christian Falk for CF Bayern Insider.
Still, Liverpool clearly still view him as a key player, so it seems he’s now off the table for Barcelona as they go for Rashford instead, but that’s arguably quite a step down in quality.
