Rashford faces uncertain wait AFTER he signs for Barcelona

Marcus Rashford is set to join Barcelona on loan with an option to buy, but the La Liga giants are unlikely to be able to register the Manchester United star immediately

Marcus Rashford is on the verge of joining Barcelona on loan, but the 27-year-old will face a nervous wait to see if he can be registered. Rashford joined Aston Villa on loan for the second half of last season after being frozen out at Manchester United by Ruben Amorim.

United were keen to sell Rashford this summer, but he is set to move to Barcelona on loan with an option to buy instead. The Spanish giants have been beset with financial problems in recent years and have struggled to register new signings as a result.

Dani Olmo, who rejoined Barcelona from RB Leipzig last summer, was granted a temporary registration licence that was revoked at the end of the year after La Liga claimed the club had failed to prove they were compliant with their financial rules.

Olmo was only permitted to play after Spain's National Sports Council ruled in April 2025 that La Liga's decision was "null and void". Barcelona are also yet to officially register goalkeeper Joan Garcia with La Liga following his move from Espanyol.

They are unable to register new players until space is made in the budget for their wages and that has not yet happened for Garcia. As a result, Rashford will be in the same boat once his move is completed.

The forward had been linked with a number of other clubs across Europe, but made it clear that he wanted to join Barcelona. When asked if he would like to play alongside Barcelona star Lamine Yamal, Rashford told Spanish influencer Javi Ruiz: "Yeah, sure.

"Everybody in the world wants to play with the best. So hopefully, we'll see. (Yamal) is gonna be… it's difficult to put into words what he's doing because he's not supposed to be doing it at 16, 17. He's playing at the highest level, I don't think we've seen it.

"To have his mentality is a skill. He's not normal to be doing what he does and he will keep improving. Spain is nice, it's not too far from home. If I'm training over a long period, my family can come for a few days, it's a nice location and good weather."

And Barcelona boss Hansi Flick has previously described Rashford as "fantastic player". When asked about a potential move for Rashford or Liverpool star Luis Diaz back in May, Flick said: "This is what we have talked about with the club.

"In the last matches maybe we did not have a lot of options in that position… so we have to bring more options to the team and more quality. This is the job from Deco, is clear, and I will support him.

"I don't want to speak about players which are not in my team, but of course Luis Diaz and Marcus Rashford are fantastic players. I like them and we'll see what happens."