Rashford's £40m release clause expires as Barcelona move permanently to Gordon

Marcus Rashford is heading back to Manchester United after Barcelona allowed their £26m option to sign him permanently to expire on June 15, with the forward’s own £40m release clause also now lapsed as of July 15, according to The Athletic.

Rashford, 28, spent last season on loan at the Catalan club and made a significant impression, contributing 14 goals and 14 assists across 47 appearances in all competitions. His form played a part in Barcelona winning La Liga and the Spanish Super Cup. Despite Rashford’s openness to staying, Barcelona redirected their funds toward Anthony Gordon, signing the Newcastle United winger for €80m (£69m).

England’s World Cup campaign, which ended in a 2-1 semi-final defeat to Argentina earlier this week, has now concluded Rashford’s summer commitments. He started two of England’s seven matches at the tournament and scored once — in the group-stage opener against Croatia. He was introduced in stoppage time against Argentina, moments after Lautaro Martinez had put the holders ahead in the 92nd minute.

Rashford’s future at Old Trafford remains uncertain. Fenerbahce briefly emerged as a potential destination, but he has no intention of moving to Turkey and is understood to prefer remaining in one of Europe’s top leagues. He is also reported to have already turned down more financially lucrative proposals from elsewhere.

Tottenham, Arsenal, Chelsea, and Napoli are among the clubs said to have shown interest this summer, though any deal will now require fresh negotiations given the expiry of the release clause. Notably, that clause was never available to Manchester City or Liverpool.

Rashford is expected to report back to Carrington for pre-season around August 10, with manager Michael Carrick keen to work with him. The forward had fallen out of favour under former boss Ruben Amorim and was initially loaned to Aston Villa in February last year before moving to Barcelona the following summer, where he steadily rebuilt his form and confidence.