“Top player”: Euro giant’s chief hails red-hot United star, talks planned with INEOS to strike deal this week

FC Barcelona sporting director Deco has hailed Manchester United loanee Marcus Rashford as a “top player”, with fresh talks between the two clubs expected this week. Spanish Renaissance Rashford, 28, joined the Spanish giants on a season-long loan after being designated as part of United head coach Ruben Amorim’s notorious ‘bomb squad’ at Old Trafford. And while the Portuguese tactician faced his own departure in January, INEOS remain intent on selling Rashford this summer, largely due to his exorbitant contract. Barcelona retain the right to exercise a £26 million buy-option in the deal up until 15 June, but they are reluctant to pull the trigger. Instead, the Blaugrana, who retained their LaLiga title with a 2-0 win over Real Madrid two weeks ago, are looking to renegotiate another loan deal or agree a cheaper price. Rashford scored a stunning free-kick in the title-clinching victory, bringing his record for the season to 14 goals and 14 assists across 49 appearances for his adopted side. United have firmly rejected any attempts to strike a new arrangement for the Carrington graduate, but there is a growing sense that his sole focus on remaining at Camp Nou will force INEOS to compromise. Ben Jacobs (talkSPORT) reveals a meeting is planned this week between the two clubs to “try and agree a deal”, with Rashford already having “terms in place” with Barcelona. Barcelona set for talks this week with Manchester United to try and agree a deal for Marcus Rashford. Rashford has terms in place and is waiting for a club-to-club solution.#MUFC have consistently told Barcelona to pay the €30m clause.🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿https://t.co/SAGjVESc5h — Ben Jacobs (@JacobsBen) May 25, 2026 Tweet: “Barcelona set for talks this week with Manchester United to try and agree a deal for Marcus Rashford. Rashford has terms in place and is waiting for a club-to-club solution. #MUFC have consistently told Barcelona to pay the €30m clause.” “We’re happy with him” This makes the timing of Deco’s interview with BBC Sport, released today (Tuesday), all the more interesting. The 48-year-old executive, who has been Barcelona’s sporting director since 2023, was full of praise for Rashford, assessing his season as “very good”. “Marcus helped us a lot, because he came on loan [and] it’s not easy to come on loan [for] a player like him…a top player. When Raphinha got injured, he helped us a lot because he had the responsibility to replace Raphinha. It’s not easy, but he did very well. “At the same time, sometimes he came to the bench, and he’s not used to coming back to the bench but he reacted very well because when he got onto the pitch, he did everything. His season was very good and we are happy that he won La Liga with us and I think he deserves it. He worked a lot, he worked hard to be there and we’re happy with him.” These feelings are understood to be shared by Hansi Flick, the German coach in charge at Camp Nou, who is internally pushing for his club to sign Rashford permanently. Final Thoughts Evidently, Barcelona are content with Rashford’s contributions, on and off the pitch, this season. A contract offer has already been agreed, with only the INEOS’s green light left to find. But the Red Devils hierarchy are resolute in refusing to bow down to their Spanish counterparts’ demands. This makes Deco’s public declaration of support for Rashford so curious. Is it an attempt to leverage United ahead of planned negotiations this week? Or is it tacit recognition that he is now willing to pay up and an attempt to curry favour with a player whose future has hung in the balance publicly? The result of talks between United and Barcelona, as Jacobs calls, will almost certainly tell us the answer. The Peoples Person has been one of the world’s leading Man United news sites for over a decade. Follow us on Bluesky: @peoplesperson.bsky.social Darragh Fox Darragh is an editor for The Peoples Person who spent three years learning about the Cold War at the University of Sheffield slowly realising football was by far the most interesting thing to write about. Amad’s first touch should be officially recognised as the eighth wonder of the world.