No repeat of Jadon Sancho penalty clause if Barcelona opt not to sign Marcus Rashford from Man United
Marcus Rashford has made an impressive start at Barcelona
Barcelona sporting director Deco has confirmed the Catalan club would not face a financial penalty if they decided against taking up the option to sign Marcus Rashford on a permanent basis next summer.
Rashford moved to Barca on a season-long loan from Manchester United in July and has made a positive start with the highlight being his two goals in the 2-1 Champions League win at Newcastle a fortnight ago.
The Spanish champions can sign the England international on a full-time basis if they wish but Deco says they are free to make that decision without recourse from United if they opt to send him back to Old Trafford.
Chelsea were contractually obliged to pay United £5million when they decided not to sign Jadon Sancho permanently in June but Barca are not in the same situation.
In a wide-ranging interview with Mundo Deportivo, Deco said: “There is no penalty, if we want it we have a purchase option. It’s too early to talk about next season’s decisions but what matters is that we are happy with him. What we thought he could bring us, he is contributing.
“He is a player with a very high level. He exploded very early [in his career] and had great seasons at United, then he has had years of more complicated situations with changes of coaches and perhaps it was also difficult for him because they demanded a lot of things there. But we are happy with him, that is the most important thing.
“These are not decisions for now, now it’s time to focus on the upcoming matches. A decision will be made but we don’t talk about this now.”
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There was never a plan A, B and C – Deco
Barca had three options to fill the left-wing slot over the summer: Rashford, Luis Diaz and Nico Williams.
Diaz ended up joining Bayern Munich from Liverpool while Williams signed a new contract at Athletic Bilbao.
When it was put to Deco that Diaz was ‘plan A’, he said: “It’s not a plan A or B issue. We are lucky that the coach [Hansi Flick] is a soccer person, intelligent, with a lot of experience, the relationship has always been very clear from the beginning.
“What both he and I said is that we didn’t want to lose important players. We were clear about what we could let go and what we couldn’t. And if we could improve in areas that needed improvement… When we saw last season’s squad, we were missing something there [on the left].
“We thought that Ansu [Fati] would play that role. He started the preseason well but then things didn’t turn out and he also had injuries that hampered him. He could play left wing and as a nine but we lacked this profile in the squad.
“Luis Díaz fit into this, Rashford fitted and then it’s a matter of negotiation. On the other side there is a club and they are of a very high level, you talk about Liverpool and United.
“With Díaz and Liverpool, from the first minute it got quite hard with them not wanting to sell and it ended up being impossible. The Rashford thing at the beginning was also complicated but it got a little easier because United were more open to a transfer.
“Then came Nico whose profile we were not looking for. It is not that there is a plan A, B or C, although for the press it is normal. For us, everyone is a different player and has different qualities.”
Blame the agent, not Barca for Williams row – Deco
It was the second successive summer that Williams had come close to joining Barca only for the deal to fall through. It led to much gnashing of teeth in Bilbao but Deco says those looking for someone to blame should focus their ire on the player’s agent.
“We haven’t sought out their player, we haven’t gone after their player,” insisted the former Barca and Portugal midfielder. “They have to worry about the agent, who has come to Barca several times to offer the player.
“It’s not a club issue. If one of our players gives his agent permission to talk to other teams, we can’t get angry at the others about it. We’re moving on. He’s a Bilbao player. It’s a very simple situation. The agent sought us out, he tried to get us. It didn’t work out, and we must move on with other, more important issues.”