Ballon d’Or winner says ‘upset’ star left ‘love of his life’ club to play for Man United – now he’s miserable | OneFootball

Dutch legend Ruud Gullit has suggested that Marcus Rashford is reluctantly playing for Manchester United this season.

It was clear at the beginning of the summer that his first choice was to remain with Barcelona long-term, having spent 2025/2026 on loan with the Catalan giants.

Barcelona and Marcus Rashford: What happened in the transfer window?

(Photo by George Wood/Getty Images)

However, after Barcelona let his £26 million buy option expire without activating it, Rashford’s chances of signing permanently took a substantial hit.

Then, when the reigning La Liga champions decided to shell out a whopping £69 million to bring in Anthony Gordon – a like-for-like replacement for Rashford – from Newcastle United, it became clear they had no intention of adding the Carrington graduate to Hansi Flick’s ranks again.

Rashford spent the majority of the summer away with England at the World Cup awaiting clarification on his future, before eventually returning to United and being reintegrated into the squad – this time under Michael Carrick’s management.

What Gullit had to say about Rashford

(Photo by Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)

The 28-year-old has featured prominently since the campaign got underway, but he has yet to register a goal or an assist in the six appearances he’s made.

That being said, you would imagine goal contributions are on the way, as he ranks above every other Premier League player for chances created (13) across the opening five gameweeks.

Yet, Gullit has voiced his thoughts on Rashford’s morale, saying (Football365): “I don’t know if Marcus Rashford likes playing for Man United anymore – Barcelona were the ‘love of his life’, and he might be too upset after leaving.

“Of course, it didn’t happen for Rashford, but he was only there on loan. I think he learned a lot playing for Barcelona.

“He played with very good players around him there, and now he has to do it at a different team, playing different football, without those players, and I don’t know if he likes that. I don’t know if he wants it anymore.

“We will see because he will show us, and I know he wants to play well, but it’s not nice to leave the love of your life, Man United, and find out that a lot of people didn’t even want you.

“That’s not nice at all. Now he has to go back and prove himself again, and that is hard.”

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