Barcelona’s sporting director Deco has suggested Marcus Rashford ‘suffered’ at Manchester United because he was burdened with excessive responsibility too young.
The 28-year-old is currently on loan at the Catalan club, who have the option to make the move permanent in the summer.
The forward has made an impressive start to life in Catalunya, bagging six goals and nine assists in 18 appearances across all competitions.
Deco has suggested that Rashford shouldered a lot of responsibility at United despite being ‘too young’.
He told The Times: “He’s happy with us. Marcus is a fantastic player.
“He faced the responsibility of becoming an important player at Man United – United, like us, are one of the biggest clubs in the world – too young.
“He suffered a bit with this change of generation at United too. If you see United in the last five years, they had difficulties rebuilding the team, to become stronger again.
“He was there. So it’s not easy for a player [from whom] people demand a lot. When you are an important player, you have a lot of responsibility.
“We were looking for a player like him on the market – a player who could play in the three positions up front.
“We were able to sign Marcus on loan now because of his desire to play for Barcelona. He waited a lot.
“He knew that we were dealing with financial rules. But he was patient. He waited, and we’re happy to have him.”
Big things were expected from Rashford after he scored twice on his debut against Midtjylland in 2016.
He scored 138 goals in 426 senior appearances for the Red Devils, but couldn’t perform consistently and received plenty of criticism from the supporters.
After being pushed to the fringes by manager Ruben Amorim, the England international left to join Aston Villa for the second half of last season.
Villa opted against making Rashford’s loan permanent last summer, and he secured a move to Barcelona.
The United academy graduate wasn’t their first-choice target, but he has established himself in the team.
Barcelona want to sign him permanently, but their financial issues could be a stumbling block.
The Catalans are still not out of the woods, despite being frugal for the past several years.
Stats from Transfermarkt.
