Marcus Rashford leaves Wayne Rooney sad as manager praised for brave decision

Marcus Rashford has been in fine form for Barcelona this season and has earned a recall to the England squad, with Wayne Rooney praising the forward’s performances

Wayne Rooney has confessed he would have loved to have seen Marcus Rashford flourishing for Manchester United instead of at Barcelona. Rashford secured a season-long loan move to the Spanish giants this summer after being considered expendable by Red Devils boss Ruben Amorim.

Barca possess the option to snap up Rashford for £30million in 2026 and are said to be keen on making the transfer permanent, albeit at a reduced fee. The 27-year-old has excelled during his loan stint at the Camp Nou – bagging five goals and registering seven assists across all competitions for Hansi Flick’s squad so far this campaign.

His resurgence has resulted in him securing a return to the England setup under Thomas Tuchel. Former United and Three Lions skipper Rooney has lavished praise on Rashford’s outstanding displays in Spain and Tuchel’s choice to bring him back into the national team fold.

READ MORE: Man Utd youngster shares heartbreaking family loss after dad takes his own lifeREAD MORE: Marcus Rashford singled out by Spanish media as Real Madrid beat Barcelona in El Clasico

“I’d much prefer to see him do that for Man United, if I’m honest,” Rooney said on his podcast, as he admitted to feeling sad about how the England star’s United career has panned out.

“But no, listen… I don’t think it was the easiest start, the first couple of games, and there were people talking about him, but he’s got his head down, he’s doing well, he’s playing well, and for any young English player, and especially someone you know and you want to do well, it’s great to see that,” he added.

“Listen, Marcus Rashford at his best is a top, top player and that’s what we all want to see and just hope he stays settled and he keeps performing, keeps working and if he does that then I don’t think there’s any doubt about his ability.

“And you know what, I think fair play to Thomas Tuchel for bringing him in and playing him as well. Now Anthony Gordon has probably gone ahead of him a little bit in Tuchel’s plans, it looks like anyway, you don’t know.

“But for bringing him in and playing him and picking him when maybe people didn’t think he should. So I think fair play to Tuchel because that gives a player confidence as well.”

Rashford’s next opportunity to shine for Barcelona will come in Sunday’s La Liga fixture at home to Elche (5:30pm kick-off UK time) following the disappointing loss to arch-rivals Real Madrid at the weekend.

He will then feature in matches against Club Brugge and Celta Vigo before the November international break.

Join our new MAN UTD WhatsApp community and receive your daily dose of Manchester United content from Mirror Football.

We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners.

If you don’t like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you’re curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.