Manchester United loanee Marcus Rashford has been accused of “self-sabotage” after losing his place in the Barcelona starting XI as punishment for turning up late to a team meeting.
Man Utd sent Rashford on loan to Aston Villa in January, but Unai Emery’s side decided against making the deal permanent.
It was already clear by then that his Old Trafford career, at least under Ruben Amorim, was over. In the summer, Barcelona stepped in with a season-long loan and an option to buy for around £26m.
After a slow start in Spain, Rashford seemed to have found his feet, scoring twice in a 2-1 Champions League win over Newcastle last week. But instead of building on his best performance for Barca, he was dropped from Hansi Flick’s next starting XI against Getafe for his late arrival.
It’s a mistake Rashford has made before. Back in 2022, Erik ten Hag benched him against Wolves for oversleeping and missing a meeting — before he came on to score the winner.
Now the same questions over his professionalism have followed him to Spain. Paul Scholes has criticised Rashford, while former Watford captain Troy Deeney has accused him of repeatedly undermining his own career.
He told talkSPORT: “I was one to give him so much credit after this because I am quite harsh on Marcus. But, you know when someone keeps showing you who they are, you start to believe them.
“He keeps doing this, where he gets to a high and he self-sabotages. Every time. You know the rules, you know what you’re supposed to do at Barcelona.”
But talkSPORT European football expert Andy Brassell suggested Rashford’s slip-up may not be viewed as severely in Spain as it is in England.
“The initial instinct for a lot of people will be ‘I can’t believe he’s done this, he’s shot himself in the foot’ but Hansi Flick has always been consistent,” he explained.
“Other big players have been dropped for this in the past, Jules Kounde and Raphinha have been dropped from the XI for being late for a team meeting.
“Flick won’t hold this against Rashford, but it has given someone else the opportunity to take his place in the team.”