'Rashford's United exit leaves unanswered questions'

In this modern world, where image means so much, the post uploaded onto Marcus Rashford's social media feed on Sunday was instructive.

Rashford was on a private plane, heading to Barcelona, playing cards with his brothers Dane and Dwaine.

As he shuffled the deck, one card was shown, half turned over. The ace of hearts.

Presumably this was deliberate. The card itself is positive, symbolic. More impactful than, say, the three of diamonds or six of clubs.

But it also captured the sentiment of genuine affection around the 27-year-old.

Even those inside Old Trafford, who have known for so long there was no chance of a return, no possibility of Ruben Amorim's arm being placed round his shoulders as he was ushered back into the fold, privately wish Rashford well and hope he makes a success of it at the Nou Camp.

They know the striker needs a spark that will return him to the levels he is capable of and that just wasn't going to happen at the club he supported as a boy and joined as a seven-year-old.

There were flashes of it during his half season on loan at Aston Villa in 2024-25 but the consistency was still missing. Rashford was looking at alternatives anyway but it is not certain Villa manager Unai Emery would have tried to sign the forward permanently, even if the Spaniard's side had qualified for the Champions League.

Barcelona is a completely different level. They are the club Rashford has had at the top of his wishlist for two seasons.

If he cannot be motivated to play alongside Robert Lewandowski or driven by the challenge of lining up with Lamine Yamal, who has emerged as a teenager on an even higher trajectory than Rashford did himself a decade ago, then major questions will be asked about his career as a whole.

Some have asked why Barca would want Rashford in the first place.

Well, stripped back, they have cut a really good deal.

Having tried, and failed, to sign Nico Williams from Athletic Bilbao in the summer, they needed to strengthen their attacking positions. Aside from a now 36-year-old Lewandowski and Yamal, who is half his age, Hansi Flick only has Brazilian Raphinha and former Manchester City forward Ferran Torres to choose from.

Barcelona knew from past discussions with Rashford's familythat the player was keen to join them, as he said earlier this summer in an interview with Spanish influencer Javi Ruiz.

"Everyone wants to play with the best," he said. "Hopefully... We'll see."

This followed comments from Barca's sporting director Deco, who had said how much the club liked him, and Liverpool's Luis Diaz.

"When we go to the market, there are names that we know and that could improve the team," he told Catalan radio station RAC1 in May.

"We like Luis, we like Rashford and we like other players," he said.

The structure of the deal suits Barcelona.

The club's once perilous financial position, though improved, is not perfect - it is unlikely they will be in a position to register Rashford immediately, although that will not stop him from training or playing in non-competitive games.

That would clear him to be part of this month's three-match tour of Japan and South Korea, which includes a game against K League outfit FC Seoul, who, ironically, include Rashford's former team-mate and close friend Jesse Lingard in their ranks.

Against that backdrop, a loan that contains an option, not an obligation, to buy, with the fee set at €35m (£30.3m) represents very good business.

If Rashford does well and gets close to the levels that earned him his current £325,000-a-week contract in the first place, he would be worth far more than the sum Barcelona would have to pay for someone who would then still only be 28.

If he doesn't succeed, they can just send him back to Old Trafford. There wouldn't even be the need for the penalty clause Chelsea had to pay to get out of signing Jadon Sancho this summer.

For United, there is a benefit too.

The club's hope will be that they and Amorim will be able to move on and construct their own future without repeated questions about a player who, in reality, has had one outstanding season in his last five.

Even club legends such as Rio Ferdinand and Ryan Giggs have said it is probably now time for Rashford to try something new.

Rashford clearly still has a lot of friends at Old Trafford, and not just Sancho, Alejandro Garnacho, Antony and Tyrrell Malacia, who were also told by Amorim they must train at times when the main group are not even at Carrington. Plenty of his former colleagues in the current United squad liked his post from the private plane.

But there is a delicate path to navigate.

Asked about Rashford's impending exit after the 0-0 draw with Leeds in Stockholm on 19 July, Amad Diallo dealt with the matter brilliantly.

"The only thing I can say is good luck to him but I'm more focused on United and my team," said the forward.

United leave for their three-match pre-season trip to the United States on Tuesday. Amorim is not due to speak to the media until Friday, two days after Rashford's planned unveiling by Barcelona.

The chances are the Portuguese manager will be asked to respond to the move and whatever Rashford has said about it but after that he should be able to deal with the more important issue of turning Manchester United into a winning team again.

Even though a parting of the ways has been inevitable for some time, there is a sense of sadness that a club which prides itself on bringing players through its youth system should have found itself in a situation where it is compliant in the exit of the 15th highest all-time scorer - 138 - and 23rd highest appearance maker.

Given his age, Rashford could comfortably have made the top 10 in both lists and deservedly been the recipient of legendary United status.

Now that accolade is in doubt from both sides.

Clearly, the player does not think he has been treated well - and that Amorim is not solely responsible for this. The feeling of those close to him is that ties at United have been severed and relationships cannot be rebuilt.

From a club perspective, that ill-fated trip to Belfast in January last year, which Rashford extended without permission, visited nightspots on two consecutive nights and was then late for training, is viewed as a lack of commitment that subsequent performances on the pitch did little to dispel.

Though Rashford scored the first goal of Amorim's reign, in his opening game at Ipswich Town in November, within a month the Portuguese reasoned the player's attitude was wrong.

Financially, it suits United for Rashford not to be on the scene given his huge salary and a strong desire to drive down the overall wage bill at the loss-making club.

But the nagging feeling persists there is more to this situation, some kind of smoking gun to explain how it all ended like this.

Certainly, Ferdinand thinks that, as he articulated on his You Tube channel.

"There must have been so much going on behind the scenes that we're just not aware of," the six-time Premier League winner said. "And Marcus isn't someone who really wants to talk and do interviews, so you have to respect that. But I'm sure it'll come out in the wash at some point.

"Is it because of a lack of form? A lack of confidence? Mismanagement? Have the club failed him? Or is it down to him? Is there injuries we don't know about? Has he lost that desire? That form has gone and he can't rekindle it?

"What are the issues that have led to a young kid that's a graduate of the academy at Manchester United, which is famous for all of the great players that have come through there, [saying] he wants to leave?

"Or is it the manager saying he is going to put a marker down with one of the biggest players at the club? There are a lot of unanswered questions."

It might be a while before we get them.