Marcus Rashford’s importance to Barcelona this season has been shown by his absence in the last two matches.
The Catalans were thrashed 4-0 at Atletico Madrid in the Copa del Rey semi-final and again on Monday in a 1-2 Catalan derby defeat at Girona which saw Hansi Flick’s side lose top spot in La Liga to Real Madrid.
Flick highlighted after the match against Girona that his team was shattered and missing important injured players, adding that midfielder Pedri and forward Rashford would be returning for the next game at home to 19th place Levante at Camp Nou on Sunday.
Rashford, 28, has been a success with 10 goals and 13 assists so far and is popular with Barca fans.
He is on a one-year loan at Barcelona from Manchester United, for which the Catalans can turn into a permanent deal if they pay the agreed €30 million at the end of this season.
This is a figure which Manchester United will not budge on and renegotiate, despite speculation that Barca would like to pay less for the forward who is also a popular figure in the dressing room. Rashford’s wages are considerable, but his fee is not given his importance to Flick’s team.
United also don’t recognise the rumours that interim manager Michael Carrick wants Rashford back at Old Trafford once his loan ends.
For his part, Rashford has never said that he wants to return and has continually said that he is enjoying life at Barcelona.
He’s already won the Spanish Super Cup and his team are still in contention to retain the La Liga title, while they are also still in the Champions League and Copa del Rey, though they face an uphill task against Atletico on March 3.
The feeling among Barca fans is that with Rashford in their squad, they will have a better chance of a famous comeback than without.
