Marcus Rashford, on loan at Barcelona from Manchester United for the 2025/26 season, has told the club he will tear up a previously agreed three-year contract and instead commit to a five-year deal to make a permanent €30 million move possible.
Barcelona and United agreed a €30 million buyout fee as part of the loan arrangement, and Manchester United are standing firm on a £26.2 million (€30 million) valuation, but Barcelona’s strained finances have left the transfer in doubt despite months of talks.
Rashford had already accepted in principle a three-year contract that included a 40% reduction on his Old Trafford wages. Now, according to the negotiating parties, he is prepared to abandon that three-year arrangement and sign for five years, a change designed to ease Barcelona’s accounting burden.
One source explained the arithmetic plainly: a €30 million signing on a three-year contract would count as roughly €10 million per year in the club’s books; stretched over five years, the same fee would register at about €6 million per year. That smaller annual hit would help Barcelona comply with financial limits and free room for other moves.
On the pitch, Rashford’s season has been a central part of the argument for keeping him. One source lists him with 14 goals and 12 assists for the campaign, while another counts 14 goals and 14 assists in 48 games for Barcelona. He has made clear he wants to remain at the club and is aiming for a commitment that would keep him through the end of the 2031/32 season.
Those sporting figures have not removed the hurdle off the field. Barcelona’s finances are repeatedly cited as the major obstacle to completing the permanent transfer, and the club is juggling squad planning amid the possibility that Robert Lewandowski could depart in the summer. The accounting issue — how the fee is amortised across the length of a contract — is central to the talks. For background on Barcelona’s latest stance, see the club’s consideration of a second loan move in an internal report: Barcelona News: Club pushes for second loan of Marcus Rashford as talks continue.
The deal’s friction point is clear and immediate. Barcelona have reportedly been weighing another loan to delay the permanent outlay, but Manchester United are refusing to sanction another temporary move and insist Rashford must leave permanently or not at all. That ultimatum narrows Barcelona’s options: they either find a way to accept the €30 million fee now or lose a player who has indicated he wants to stay.
Rashford’s offer to lengthen the contract is the practical lever he is putting on the table. By accepting five years, he would allow the club to spread the transfer cost and lower the yearly accounting charge, making the fee look more manageable on paper. Whether that is enough depends on Barcelona’s ability to create the fiscal headroom and on United’s insistence on a straight sale rather than another temporary arrangement.
The consequence is straightforward: Rashford has moved from agreeing a shorter, lower-wage deal to volunteering a longer commitment to keep him in Barcelona, but the transfer now hinges on whether Barcelona can reconcile their books while meeting United’s demand for a permanent exit. For marcus rashford, the choice to stretch the deal is meant to settle the argument — the clubs must now decide whether the accounting fix is sufficient to close it.
