At Son Moix, Marcus Rashford made his official debut as an FC Barcelona player. He was able to contribute in a victory in a “strange” match, as he himself defined it in an interview for the newspapers ‘Sport’ and ‘El Periodico’, in which he analysed his first steps as a Blaugrana. The Englishman is aware that for now he is only on loan for a year and is focused on enjoying day-to-day life.
“All moments in a career are crucial. For me, this is another challenge. I am here because it is what I want and my objective is to win,” explained Rashford, who sees himself becoming more involved in the team’s dynamics now that the season has started: “I think the process is easier now because we are already playing matches, so you don’t depend so much on help because we are all focused on winning the games. It’s simple. We are here to train, to enjoy, and to win.”
At the moment, the still Manchester United player is coming off the bench, although he hopes to earn a starting spot. But the most important thing for him is to feel happy and satisfied with his work: “I can do many things and enjoy the game, although the most fun is scoring and assisting goals. My main reason is to win. And to be consistent, I need to be happy, because that’s when I play my best football.”
He highlights Pedri and Lamine Yamal
Rashford finds himself in a dressing room full of talent, from which he highlights two above the rest. One, Pedri Gonzalez: “If you didn’t know his age, you’d think he was 28 or 29 years old because he’s very mature and understands the game perfectly. He plays at his own pace and that makes it easy for the forwards to play with him.”
The other, of course, is Lamine Yamal: “He’s a top talent. The most surprising thing is how mature he is for his age, how he thinks and plays. He’s far beyond his years. It’s exciting to play with him and with others too. I’m adapting to the change of environment, pace, and football, and the best place to do it is on the pitch. I’ll make mistakes, but I’ll also learn a lot and improve. The quality of the players helps a lot and as I said before, for me, the easiest place to learn is on the pitch.”
“As a person, he’s an 18-year-old kid, always fun, laughing, joking with others. It’s stimulating to be in a dressing room with so many young players. It reminds me of myself back in the day. Lamine is the most talented footballer I’ve played with for his age. I haven’t played with or seen anyone with the impact he has on the game, perhaps Ronaldo Nazario. To have that influence on the pitch at such a young age and so consistently is incredible. He has a long career ahead of him, and I hope he maintains his level and even improves,” he added.
Furthermore, when asked about the race for the Ballon d’Or, he didn’t venture to say, but assured that the youngster from Mataro will be among the favourites: “Yes, for sure. If he doesn’t win it this year, he’ll win it in the future. Dembele, Raphinha, they all deserve it. It’s difficult to pick one, but they are all mature and have had a fantastic season. Lamine is so young that he will definitely win it.”
“This club has its principles”
A few days ago, Marcus Rashford spoke in England about the loss of the club’s philosophy at Manchester United. Now he compares it with Barca: “This club has principles. If not, it wouldn’t have won three trophies last season.” And he sets the bar high: “The mentality and motivation are high, I don’t see why we couldn’t win all the trophies we compete for. For me, the team is ready to win. I just want to help however I can.”
He also referred to Hansi Flick, of whom he gave an interesting profile: “He’s a very direct coach. That’s important, especially with so many young players in the squad, where the direction needs to be clear. His motivation is very high to do better than last season. That’s the main thing to believe the team will be successful. He’s a special coach who knows how to work with special players. I’m excited.”
