Marcus Rashford sings London rap anthem at Barcelona initiations | OneFootball

Not only does it make for excellent social media posts for content managers, but singing a song remains an age old method of breaking down barriers for new additions to a group, in this case, a football team. A common ‘initiation’, Barcelona clearly subscribe to that theory.

While no footage of the initiations has emerged, the songs that the new additions to Barcelona’s squad were revealed by Catalunya Radio this week. The on-loan Manchester United forward went for a choice likely unfamiliar for much of the squad.

Marcus Rashford sings London rap anthem

Image via Valenti Enrich / Sport

Their information is that Rashford decided to sing ‘Sprinter’ in front of the rest of the squad, a rap anthem by London artists Dave and Central Cee. While Sprinter spent 10 weeks at number one in the United Kingdom in 2023, and became the most streamed UK rap song ever on Spotify, it seems unlikely to have been a sing-along for the entire squad. In many senses, it’s something of a bold choice in that regard.

Joan Garcia goes for 2000s Platinum disc

Meanwhile Joan Garcia went for something likely more familiar for the rest of his teammates, singing ‘Soldadito Marinero’ [Little Naval Solider] by Spanish pop group Fito and Fitipaldis. One of th most popular bands of the 2000s in Spain, Garcia would no doubt have grown up listening to it, and the song itself went platinum seven times.

While it is not known what Swedish teenager Roony Bardghji opted to sing, it is known that La Masia left-back Jofre Torrents elected to sing ‘Despacito’ by Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee – a known crowd-pleaser.

Rashford enjoying the early stages in Spain

Rashford, for whom the culture shock will be most impactful alongside Bardghji, has spoken positively of his time in Barcelona thus far. During an interview before the start of the La Liga season, he commented that the young dressing at Barcelona was also energising him again, after losing his way a little in England.