Marcus Rashford drops hint on Aston Villa future in ‘come back’ message
Marcus Rashford’s Aston Villa loan spell started in promising fashion but ultimately ended in disappointment with Unai Emery’s side missing out on Champions League qualification.
Villa were consigned to the Europa League with a controversial 2-0 away defeat at Old Trafford on Sunday (25 May) with Rashford, 27, ineligible to play against his parent club.
In any case, the forward had missed the four previous games with a hamstring injury.
Rashford joined Aston Villa on loan in February and notched four goals and six assists in 17 games for the club before picking up the injury.
Villa agreed an option to buy the forward from United, where he fell out with manager Ruben Amorim, for a fee of £40million this summer.
| Appearances (Starts) | 17 (10) |
| Minutes Played | 940 |
| Goals | 4 |
| Assists | 6 |
| Yellow Cards | 0 |
Rashford speaks out about ‘huge disappointment’ at Aston Villa
It is yet to be confirmed where Rashford’s future lies for the 2025-26 campaign, but the England international dropped a big hint via Instagram on Monday (26 May).
Rashford acknowledged the “huge disappointment” of missing out on Champions League football but thanked Villa for an “incredible” loan spell.
He insisted the “club and team will come back stronger” – but in a telling development, stopped short of confirming he will be involved at Villa Park next season.
The forward has been heavily linked with a potential Barcelona switch in the summer transfer window, which opens on Sunday (1 June).
Barcelona sporting director Deco has confirmed the Catalan giants are admirers of Rashford, who has three years left to run on his Man United deal.
‘Rashford ready to take wage cut’
Meanwhile, former Man United chief scout Mick Brown has told Football Insider (26 May) that Rashford is willing to take a pay cut to facilitate a move to Barcelona.
Football Insider had previously revealed (31 March) that Villa face paying £130million over five years in wages and transfer fee if they signed the forward at his current £350,000-a-week salary.
Rashford clashed with Amorim at Old Trafford earlier in the 2024-25 campaign and was frozen out of the first-team squad before being shipped out on loan in the new year.
He has scored 138 goals in 426 games for his boyhood club but it is widely expected that he will have no future at United heading into pre-season preparations for the 2025-26 season.
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