Lineker urges ‘impeccable’ Man Utd star to leave Old Trafford for good after receiving ‘bizarre’ criticism | OneFootball

Legendary English striker Gary Lineker believes Marcus Rashford would make a mistake by returning to Manchester United, as he’s better off at Barcelona on all levels.

The 28-year-old is one of the best players to emerge out of MUFC’s academy over the past decade or so. He made his breakthrough with the first team as a teenager in 2016 and went on to become one of the club’s biggest stars at one point.

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Sadly for the attacker, the landscape at Carrington drastically changed following Ruben Amorim’s arrival in November 2024. It only took the Portuguese manager one month to omit Rashford from the squad, which sparked a loan move to Aston Villa in January 2025.

Gary Lineker tells Marcus Rashford to stay away from Man Utd

Following his brief experience in Birmingham, Rashford finally made his dream move to Barcelona last summer, joining the Catalans on loan with an option to buy for €30 million.

While he hasn’t been an undisputed starter in Hansi Flick’s lineup, the Englishman has been a great addition to the Catalans’ squad. He has already contributed with 10 goals and 13 assists in 37 appearances.

In recent weeks, there have been major speculations regarding the player’s future, as Amorim’s sacking in January revived the hopes of Man Utd supporters of having their favourite back at Old Trafford.

Nevertheless, Lineker believes that Rashford’s wisest move is to prolong his stay at Barcelona, where he’s able to enjoy his football without having to worry about the British media’s toxicity.

“He’s not getting many minutes at the moment. That’s for obvious reasons,” said the Leicester legend during on the Rest is Football podcast (via Mirror).

“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.

“I think it will come down to Marcus. If he goes back to Manchester United he will face all the old criticism again. ‘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.”

Rashford all set for permanent Barcelona move

Luckily for Rashford, Barcelona appear to be adamant about signing him on a permanent basis after being impressed with his ‘impeccable’ displays.

Some sources have suggested that the Spanish giants will try to negotiate lower figures with Man Utd rather than activating the current buy clause, but in either case, the player is set to play his football at Camp Nou next season.

Man Utd have also resigned to losing their youth product, and they’re already searching the market for a new left winger, with RB Leipzig’s Yan Diomande apparently topping the club’s shortlist.