The former England striker thinks Manchester United will rue the decision made by their ex-manager Ruben Amorim
Gary Lineker has discussed Marcus Rashford’s future(Image: YouTube/@therestisfootball)
Gary Lineker has stuck the boot into Manchester United, believing that moving to Barcelona on a permanent deal is the right decision for Marcus Rashford. Rashford, 28, joined the La Liga giants last summer on a season-long loan deal, having been frozen out of the United squad by former boss Ruben Amorim.
The England international has impressed during his time in Spain, netting 10 goals and claiming 13 assists in 37 appearances across all competitions this season.
With Michael Carrick now at the helm of United on an interim basis, it’s likely that the 44-year-old would be thrilled to have a striker with Rashford’s capabilities at his disposal. However, the breakdown in relations between Rashford and Amorim has all but sealed United’s fate in that respect, with the 28-year-old seemingly happy in his new surroundings.
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While United will be licking their wounds at what could’ve been, ex-Leicester striker Lineker has somewhat rubbed salt in their wounds. He has highlighted Rashford’s exemplary professionalism during his loan spell at the Catalan side, while suggesting that snubbing his boyhood club in favour of the Camp Nou would be in the player’s best interest.
Lineker said on The Rest Is Football podcast: “He’s not getting many minutes at the moment. That’s for obvious reasons. Lamine Yamal is playing on the right and Raphinha is playing on the left and they are both in the top five players in world football. So it’s understandable. But whenever he comes on he does really well.”
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Discussing the likelihood of Rashford remaining at Barcelona, Lineker added: “I think that would be a great move for him, don’t you? It looks promising for him.”
On the subject of whether United will keep him this summer, Lineker claimed Rashford may well enjoy life away from the media glare in the UK.
Marcus Rashford fell out of favour under Ruben Amorim(Image: Getty Images)
“I think it will come down to Marcus. If he goes back to Manchester United he will face all the old criticism again,” he said.
“Oh, ‘He’s focusing too much on helping kids have food on their table’, like it’s a bad thing. They did this bizarre thing about why he was wearing some kind of flashy necklace.
“They don’t do that nonsense over there [in Spain] so he just gets on with his football. It was a fresh start and I would imagine he’s really loving it and not getting all the off-field nonsense he gets in this country. They leave you to live your life. It doesn’t compare to how our media is here.”
Marcus Rashford has enjoyed his football with Barcelona this season(Image: Getty Images)
Barcelona have a £26million option to sign Rashford in the summer it is increasingly likely that the club will make his move permanent at the end of this season. Spanish outlet SPORT has previously reported that Barca have made a breakthrough in agreeing on a salary with the forward, should they reach an agreement with United.
It means United could lose one of the most in-form forwards in Europe despite now needing a left-winger of their own because of Amorim’s decision to freeze Rashford out. The mistake by the Portuguese could end up being a costly one too, with United likely to par far more than the £26m Rashford would bring in to the club in order to sign his replacement.
Barcelona maintained their position at La Liga’s summit with a hard-fought 1-0 victory at Athletic Club on Saturday evening, though Rashford failed to make a significant impact. The England striker was handed his first league start in a month and featured for the opening 60 minutes before being replaced by Raphinha.
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