The fee is substantial but the Catalan club believe it makes better financial sense to sign the Newcastle forward
Anthony Gordon will move to Barcelona this summer after the Catalan club agreed an €80m deal with Newcastle United for the England international.
Gordon has already agreed personal terms with the club and will be snubbing competing interest from Bayern Munich for his signature.
Why is this happening, and what does it mean for Marcus Rashford and Manchester United, who were counting on a permanent move worth €30m for the 28-year-old?
At first glance it seems baffling that Barcelona would ignore a lesser €30m for Rashford, who is already at the club and produced 14 goals and 14 assists this season to help them to the La Liga title, and instead pursue a much higher €80m fee for Gordon.
The fee is substantial, but Barcelona believe it makes better financial sense to sign Gordon. If they amortise the €80m fee across five years, it is cheaper than signing Rashford for €30m because they still end up with resale value. Gordon is 25 years old, three years younger than Rashford, whom Barcelona would be more reluctant to hand a five-year contract that would keep him at the club until he was 33 with little to no resale value.
Gordon’s salary demands are also significantly lower than those of Marcus Rashford, whose salary will rise back to £300,000 a week after United returned to Champions League football under Michael Carrick.
That’s all folks. pic.twitter.com/AoXw6hPnfK
— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) May 24, 2026
Additionally, sources familiar with Barcelona’s thinking say that Gordon is viewed as a better fit for Flick’s system. Barcelona want a forward capable of operating across both flanks and who can press aggressively off the ball. Rashford has the first but Flick and his coaching staff are concerned that he lacks the other.
Gordon’s willingness to press, attack space and stretch defensive lines is a feature of Newcastle’s current style of play under Eddie Howe, and it has appealed strongly to the decision makers at Barcelona.
It is hard to say what happens now with Rashford. Barcelona have until 15 June to activate their option to sign him, but Gordon’s arrival would make that unlikely. Rashford also seems to have no future at United, who have moved on from him and would be unwilling to continue paying his high salary.
