Former United striker says Rashford is “a top player” who “simply could not cope” with excessive reliance on him at the club
Former Manchester United striker Louis Saha has suggested that Marcus Rashford’s decline at Old Trafford was partly down to the club placing too much weight on his shoulders too early, and believes a move to Barcelona could reignite the forward’s career.
Rashford is expected to leave United permanently this summer following a short loan spell at Aston Villa, with Barcelona strongly linked as they seek attacking reinforcements after missing out on Nico Williams.
The Athletic Club winger signed a new 10-year contract last week, prompting the Catalan club to turn their attention to other targets.
Speaking to Coin Poker, Saha defended Rashford’s talent and argued that both the player and the club mismanaged his development.
“He’s a top player,” Saha said. “He has a bit of a similar trajectory to what’s going on with Alejandro Garnacho. He arrived early but he developed without the right kind of players and people around him. Maybe his entourage was a bad influence.
“He played with Wayne Rooney, but soon he was the main man, who was given too much responsibility. Maybe he was burdened with too much by the club, and it’s hard to just blame the player when the club expected so much from him.
“Perhaps it is unfair to expect so much and he simply could not cope with those demands.”
Rashford broke into the United team at just 18 and quickly became a central figure during a period of instability at the club. His 30-goal campaign in 2022-23 under Erik ten Hag showed just what he could offer to the club, but last season saw a sharp downturn in form where he scored just four Premier League goals before leaving on loan to Aston Villa in January. At Villa, he scored only two more in 10 appearances.
Saha, who won two Premier League titles during his time at United, believes a change of scenery could help Rashford reset, and said that Barcelona’s young and talented squad was an ideal environment.
“In terms of quality, Rashford is still one of the best in the world on his day,” Saha said. “He’s unbelievable, so I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s interested in Barcelona and they’re interested in him. He could be a great player for a big club.”
However, the former France international also questioned whether Rashford still had the mentality to reclaim the form that once made him untouchable.
“The question for Marcus is if he can ever do it again regularly,” said Saha. “Can he be untouchable like he once was?
“He used to excel, and he’d be joining a really confident Barcelona squad with teenagers who are already unplayable. Lamine Yamal could be a Ballon d’Or winner soon. Then there’s Raphinha, Robert Lewandowski, players like that who just don’t mess around. They know their job. Does Rashford?”
