Ayo Akimolere (3:25)

Okay, well, Andy, you're a Mancunian living in Barcelona, and, you know, Marcus Rashford seems to be enjoying his time there. He's been even talking about how he loves the paella in Barcelona. I mean, you know firsthand, how good is the paella in Barcelona?

Andy Mitten (3:38)

Well, as Paul would say, paella is not a Catalan dish. Traditionally, it's from Valencia, but it's still very popular in Catalonia, and it's also very tasty. Marcus Rashford lives just south of the airport in an area where lots of footballers live. Lionel Messi lived in that area. Ronaldinho. Lots of the current Barcelona players live there. You're close to the airport, you're close to the network. To get to the training ground quite quickly, you buy the Mediterranean. And for someone who's grown up in Wyvernshaw, it's an extremely agreeable environment for him to be in. And Barcelona is very attractive to play in for many reasons. And I've spoke to many Manchester United players over the years. Like, you're still in Barcelona. Yeah, yeah. And they're like, wish I could be there. But they'd never say that publicly because it's one reason Manchester United struggled to get Frenkie De Jong a couple of years ago. He was absolutely happy living in Catalunya by the Med, playing for this huge football club. And when things go well for you, and they're going very well for Marcus Rashford, it's one of the best places in the world to be as a footballer.

Ayo Akimolere (4:46)

Yeah. I mean, we've spoken on this podcast about Marcus Rashford, Andy, and you've often spoken about how much you admire him as a player, but often not. The company he keeps perhaps might help him elevate. Elevate himself. To the best level of himself. How important is it that he is actually away from Manchester United? You talk about the climate, you talk about, you know, what Barcelona feels like to actually focus on his football and actually not worry about all the other stuff.

Andy Mitten (5:11)

I think it's a positive. I think he'd run his race at Manchester United. I think even he would acknowledge that. And there is mitigation. It's a very complicated club to be at, with lots of managerial changes. It wasn't a vintage Manchester United. I'm sure if Marcus Rashford would have played under the stability that Alex Ferguson gave, his career would have been very different. He had some great moments playing for Manchester United. One of his best games was actually against Barcelona in 2023. That was probably the high point of Erik ten Hag's time as Manchester United manager. But I think it's a classic example of a change being as good as a break. He's moved to somewhere which is brilliant, one of the best cities in the world. He feels that he's needed to prove him. He's highly motivated and you probably need seven or eight things to go right for you. You need a coach to believe in you, and he absolutely has that in Hansi Flick. It's accessible. He can go back to Manchester when he wants. His family can come over. I bumped into his brother Dwayne in Barcelona a couple of months ago, just on a public commuter train, and had a nice chat with him. And all the feedback you're getting is that here's someone who's enjoying his football and highly motivated because there were doubts about him when he was at Manchester United and he's now playing in a better team and he's functioning in a better team. And he's already won trophies, which he'll have forever. He's playing for a team who are top of La Liga and he's playing well. Before I did this podcast, I spoke to three or four people who watch Barcelona every single week, and some of them are very well known. And I just said, just give me a mark out of 10 as to how Marcus Rashford is doing this season at Barcelona. And they all came back with exactly the same number. 8 out of 10. I think you've got to say that's a success.

Paul Balluz (7:00)

There's a thing that all people at the Barca first team unit, when Rashford came in, they were aware of the reports or the reputation that there was maybe like a lack of application at Man United or that there were complicated reasons at the club why he didn't succeed. So that was something that they had in mind. Like, well, he's a good signing but let's see when he arrives, how he develops and how he performs and everything. And there's been just no sign of bad application of a rush for in Barcelona on the training ground. When you speak to people that is with him daily, they refer to him as a really good kid, a bit shy but really good kid, has embraced his role, his being a part of this squad and just learning the ropes and they have been really impressed with that. And that's a big factor for Flick and for Barca just to want him to stay because he's a player that knows where he is, he wants to really play for that club, for that patch and has understood what he can add into the squad and what he cannot add into the squad. So in a way he knows where he came from and he's made quite an impression with that.

Ayo Akimolere (8:06)

Do you feel that he wants to be a Barcelona Manpul?

Paul Balluz (8:08)

I think that he wants to be that. Well, he said in the past that he wants to be a Barcelona player and he wants to stay beyond the summer. The other thing is how they do it because all the sides have to reach an agreement here with. There are some caveats, especially like on the financial end. I'm sure that we're going to speak about that. But that sort of desire is something that Flick and Deco and Juan Laporta they want to see in a player before signing him. Just we have to look back the previous summers with Nico Williams, a player that seemed to want to be a Barcelona. But then at the end, I mean he pulled out a bit of the deal and that's something that Barca. Yeah, they don't want to stand with that. They don't want to get into this sort of negotiations or this sort of mix or players sort of toying with the club to get a better contract. Something like this. No, if you want to come here, you have to take all the caveats that Barca have right now. But we're going to really try to sign it.

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Ayo Akimolere (12:23)

Well, let's talk about his stats this season. We've already touched on it, but eight goals and 12 assists from Rashford this season from 30 games. He's also the highest goal contributor this season for Barcelona in the Champions League. Now, although he's not actually started all those games either. Pole. I mean, those numbers and that return isn't bad, is it?

Paul Balluz (12:42)

Yeah, yeah, no, that's. That's, like really, really good. Now, when Andy was saying. When he. When he asked his friends in Barcelona about the rating that they gave to Michael Rashford, that's. I mean, in my head, I thought, yeah, it's going to be an eight. Seven and a half or an eight. And that's it. That sometimes. I mean, he played a lot when Basel were not at their best this season, and despite that, he was bringing that end product. And, like, speaking to people at the club, they were saying, look, he's putting the numbers, and we might not be playing really good now, but you need players that put the numbers and have this output. So that's been really important for him, just being able to make a difference in the attacking front. I think that the fact of playing for Barcelona helps him as well, because Barcelona are always a dominant team in La Liga. They tend to be a dominant team in the Champions League as well. They play in the final third. So I think that attacking players have a better chance, in my opinion, to be involved in goals, rather than if you have to wait on the halfway line and just run, like, the whole pitch to try to score a goal. But, yeah, no, I think that he's been. It's been actually like he's the strongest point. The fact that he's been able to add these assists, his goals, and to make a difference on the final third.

Andy Mitten (13:51)

His numbers have been good. You know, he's the top Barcelona scorer in Europe. Four goals, four assists. They're not spectacular numbers. This isn't the original Ronaldo playing at Barcelona, but then his position doesn't really allow for that. As Paul said, he's playing in a team where it suits him better. They're a dominant team. They're expected to score a lot of goals. He plays mainly on the left. That's where nine of his assists have come from. There's odd times when he plays on the right or as a centre forward, always with the coach fully behind him, and there were times when that wasn't the case at Manchester United, Absolutely. Ruben Amarin, I mean, that was a relationship. Relationship that had just broken. Would have been interesting if Ole Gunnar Solskjaer would have come back to Manchester United because he was largely positive with regards to Marcus Rashford. And I'm sure we'll talk about his future. He's playing most weeks. He started 19 or 18 out of the 30 matches. And he did benefit from the fact, as Paul said, that there was a pretty serious injury talley earlier on in the season. So he was there, he was fit, he was available, he was productive, he was absolute motivated and he's playing for a team at the top of the table. So the things which needed to go right for him are going right for him. And he's surrounded by some of the best players in the world. This season could yet reach its climax. If they could win the league, if they can do well in the Champions League, then he'll absolutely feel the move was vindicated.

Ayo Akimolere (15:22)

Do you know what's interesting is that you look at the attacking talent, they've got widen. Obviously Rafinha has been injured, but Lamin, Rafinha, Paul, I mean, those numbers are fantastic. But also I think from the outside looking in, I don't know if I am qualified to say this. He does look like a Barcelona player.

Paul Balluz (15:39)

Yeah, yeah, he does look like. And for the way that Barcelona play, they need players up front because Flik demands all the strikers to be really active on the ball and off the ball, which in a way means a lot of players getting tired and just giving your all on the pitch. So you basically, I mean, of course, when you think about Raphinha and Laminal, you might say, well, he's not really a striker. He might not be, but he will play a lot of games because Barca need this amount of strikers if they want to keep up with the system that they play. So in that regard, I think that because I've had a lot of people asking me, well, but aren't they going to sign a new number nine next season with Robert Lewandowski leaving the club? Yeah, they want to do that, but they still want to keep Rashford. So Brushford is included in that mix. It's a separate operation from a number nine. And yeah, basically they believe that he has the pedigree and the status to be a Barca player.

Ayo Akimolere (16:38)

Andy, considering what happened obviously at Manchester United with Ruben Amarima, what have you made of him being more of a team player? You know, in a recent piece, Hansiflick spoke about how he was really impressed with Rashford because basically he said he wasn't going to start a match and Rashford was like, yes, boss, you know what, whatever I need, whatever you need me to do, I'll do it type thing. You know, that humble nature, to want to be part of a team as opposed to the star of the team.

Andy Mitten (17:04)

I think he's played it right. He's not the best player at FC Barcelona. He needed to be humble. You can't come into a club like that and be big time. Not that I think that's his natural nature anyway. I think he is quite quiet. There's linguistic issues there. Although there's been a shift towards English. Hansi Flick would speak to his players in English. If you spoke to previous managers, it was necessary that you learn Spanish. Ideally you learn Catalan as well. But international football is changing, so there are lads there who speak English. I'm not sure what his current level of Spanish or Catalan is, but he puts himself about. He's viewed positively and, you know, friends of mine who are socios who go to all the games, some have said, why did Manchester United sell him? They like him. They don't think he's got the best first touch in world football, but it's positive. It's 8 out of 10 all the time. And when you consider, while his wages are high, his fee, it could be viewed as a bargain given the level of football that he's playing at. This was someone who was rated as 100 million pound footballer by Manchester United three or four years ago. This was someone who was going to be part of Manchester United's future. He was a United fan. He's a Manchester lad. He's from a family of United fans. He's from Wyvernshaw, which is a big Manchester United area. I'm sure some Manchester City fans might disagree, dispute that, but his career had become extremely bumpy. He'd lost his place in the England national side. Manchester United fans were getting on his back and the move was just perfect for him. And he went to Aston Villa and he did well there. But if you're going to Barcelona, you can turn around and say, I've moved up a level in terms of the team that I'm playing for and he's improved as a player. All the ingredients were there and he's mixed them in and he's made them work right. And his teammates would have been very harsh judges if he'd not fitted into that environment at the training ground. You've got to be humble and confident when you're a Barcelona player and he is fitting in so he just gets a big tick. This has been a successful loan move for Marcus Rashford so far.

Ayo Akimolere (19:24)

Do you think the man management as well has been better for him? In particular, we talk about Hansi Flick and the relationship he's spoken about with Rashford and I've even seen the relationship Hansi Flick has with Hafin in your poll. You know, they actually talk to each other directly to have a sort of like a, I'm saying open door policy, but that kind of like, I've got your back, son. Just trust me, I'm here for you. Do you think that helps him, Paul?

Paul Balluz (19:43)

Yeah. No. No. I mean, there's a sense in the bastard rushing room of bit of a family in there. There's also like the fact that there's a lot of young players, so the veteran players have to be role models. Then Raphinha, that you're mentioning, the relationship with Hunter. Flick has a bit of this role. But then with Rashford there's an. There's an extra layer with this which is from all the wingers that that were linked to Barcelona last summer. Rashford was Flick's choice. There was Luis Diaz, Nico Williams, which were possibly preferred by Deco. And there were deals that Deco actively tried to close before Rashford. But when they were off the table, Flick said, have a look at Rashford, because I loved him when he was at Man United and when he broke out into the scene. Flick has admitted that he's following him like the whole his career and he wanted to give him a go and basically that's been like a trend throughout the season. Flick has been trusting Rashford a lot. Of course, as Andy was saying, the sort of approach that he's had when he came into the dressing room has helped. But Flick has offered him his scan and that's been key.

Andy Mitten (20:50)

Of course, if you've got a manager behind you as a footballer, what more can you ask for? You want your teammates to behind you, you want the fans to behind you. Want a less bumpy ride with the media if possible. But the main man is the coach and he absolutely believes in Marcus Rashford and has done consistently. And the critics were always waiting, were always waiting to jump on him. You know, right from that Gamper match against Como, which Paul and I were at in August, Marcus missed a good chance. People were just ready to snipe at him. You know, this is a really criticized footballer, sometimes with good reason, sometimes unfairly. But when you're playing for a United or a Barcelona, you're going to be judged on a game to game basis. So it's to his credit that he's made the move work. The ingredients were all absolutely good for him and this could be a great season for him. You know, Barcelona could win the league, could retain him, they could win the Champions League. They're not favorites. There's this big elephant in the room which is the power of the Premier League, the money in the Premier League and I think Barcelona and Real Madrid are, are fighting against that and the, the money's going more towards England. But Barcelona can still pay top wages. I'm sure we'll talk more about the economics of Barcelona because they've been extremely complicated. And whether he stays at Barcelona or not, I think it will require compromise on all parts. You know, it was said to me, if Marcus wants his dream move to become permanent, then there's going to be a compromise needed because on his current wage, he's one of the best paid footballers in the world.

Ayo Akimolere (22:30)

Do you mean by like literally dropping his wages? Is that what you're saying, Andy?

Andy Mitten (22:33)

I think he did that anyway. And I think that Barcelona, whose economic reality has been extremely well publicized, you know, by the athletic and by many others, they will use their virtues. They'll know that the player wants to play for Barcelona. Basra benchike plenty of times with players, because if you know a player really, really wants to play for you, then that gives you some maneuverability. But a contract was signed, there was the option to buy, and the transfer fee is not a big one, given that he's proving that he can play for your team domestically and also in the Champions League as well.

Ayo Akimolere (23:14)

Okay, Paul, we'll talk finance in just a second because I know that's your favorite topic, but let's talk about the fans. Andy's spoken about how the socios are lo him giving him sort of 8 out of 10. Will fans love to see Marcus Rashford stay at Barcelona?

Paul Balluz (23:27)

I think that they would like it, assuming that of course he's not going to be starter or like the star player of the club. But being a backup option, a player that can play in any game, that he can add good things to the club, he's seen as a very useful asset to have. And as I was saying, when you compare it to last season, Barca lacked a bit of depth in there. If you go to the game against Inter Milan, which is a game that is stuck in the mind of all the Barca fans, last season they had nothing from the bench to come in and they had Lewandowski who was half injured and he played the second leg being half injured. They had nothing to add inside into the mix and Rashford provides that in a way. And getting from what Andy was saying here, I also see that some compromise will have to be made and that possibly the ordinary way that you would imagine Barclay signs Rashford will not work in that regard because the ordinary way would be pay the buy option, then get an agreement with the player and then long term contract. I don't know if that's going to be the case with Barsa Invites for Next or not.

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Ayo Akimolere (26:50)

Well, let's talk money then, Paul, because when it comes to Barcelona, there's always one subject we have to touch on. It feels like it has to be on every podcast and it's the final that is. Obviously. Now, we've heard about the impact that Rashford has made and we've spoken about the potential transfer fee, maybe dropping of the wages, but the reality is, can Barcelona actually afford him if there is a possibility to sign him?

Paul Balluz (27:14)

So the reality here is that Barcelona are still having salary limited struggles and that's the fact they are spending more money on wages than what La Liga allows them to do. That has an impact on registering new players. And if you are about to sign, let's say Rashford or any other player in the world, they cannot do it straight away. They need to offload wages before doing so. So if you bring in Rashford, who is expected to be a big amount of salary in there, that's not going to be an easy job. That's why the main way that I envisage potentially, like a deal to happen, I. I wouldn't be surprised if Arsenal goes to Man United next season and says, look, we, we would like to have Mark Rashford on a loan again because they bought in a way, spare the transfer fee, he's still going to have a big salary. They're going to have to work to fit it in. But, yeah, like compromise on both sides on the transfer fee, which has an impact as well in the registration process and then the big salary. I don't think if Barca are willing to make both things happen, like at the level that Marcus Rashford is right now. Yeah.

Ayo Akimolere (28:20)

Do you think Lewandowski leaving potentially next season, Paul, might open the door, though, for a deal like this? Because he's a very high earner.

Paul Balluz (28:28)

Yeah, yeah. But they need the number, number nine. They need a central strike and that's a priority in their summer transfer next summer and that's a piece that they really need. And Rashford, of course, is a good complement to all this frontline. But, yeah, there's a lot of issues that they need to tackle in the transfer window.

Ayo Akimolere (28:47)

Okay. Barbasa have an option to make the loan permanent and a £26 million for a player of this Caliber, that seems relatively cheap. But maybe I'm looking through the lens of the Premier League in that respect. But actually, let's talk about the Premier League. Is there any way back at Manchester United?

Andy Mitten (29:02)

I don't think so. I would be very surprised. I don't think I used the term earlier that the race has been run. I think that's fair from Marcus's side as well. I think all parties have moved on. I don't think you get any clamor from Manchester United fans for him to come back to Old Trafford. I think there is a respect for how he's doing in Catalunya. He's enjoying himself. It's good to see on a human level, you know, he's doing well and he's enjoying his football and this career is not going to last forever. Paul's quite right to use the word compromise. Manchester United are not in the game of giving players away for free. They need money. You know, there's clubs coming in asking to loan players this January and they're like, we don't just give you footballers and you pay some of the wages. We need money ourselves. So in normal circumstances, Barcelona would have had the money. You know, Barcelona spent too much money on players. The money after they received from Neymar, they splurged it, which. Which led directly to the problems which they still suffer from this day. But Manchester United have also got financial issues. Money is tight for Manchester United. They need the money in the bank. Their asset has appreciated because he's done really well this season. If Marcus wasn't playing for Barcelona, there'd absolutely be other clubs interested. But if there's a sense that the player is. Is really happy and he's got every reason to be for the. For the reasons that we've. We've explained, then they'll need to be some compromise. But then there's bonuses as well. If you're doing well in the Champions League, if you're winning, he's not going to go short of a few quit. But I don't think think Manchester United will be an easy touch. I think Barcelona will try and push as hard as they can do. So it just leads back to compromise and I don't know what the outcome will be.

Ayo Akimolere (31:01)

Yeah. Do you know what it's interesting because Paul, we spoke about on the previous podcast, I'm not sure if you were on it, Andy, I think you might have been, is that someone said marcus Rashford has to make this work at Barcelona. And I thought, do you know what it felt like Last chance saloon at that point. But actually to what Andy says, if you look at the loan at Aston Villa did himself some favors there. You look now at the loan of Barcelona. He's done himself great favors there. If Barcelona isn't the team, surely he's created a great advert for himself right now to potentially play in some of Europe's biggest teams.

Paul Balluz (31:34)

Absolutely. I mean, I don't doubt that he will have plenty of candidates to go next summer if, like Barcelona is not the option. The thing is that will he be willing to go there with the current contract that because there are still two more years on Kiss United contract, on wages that as Andy was pointing out, make him one of the better paid athletes in Europe practically. Is he be willing to go to a place that he doesn't dream, such as Barcelona, in lower wages or in these wages which team is going to be able to afford him? So I think that the elephant in the room here is his United contract, which is at a really at a massive level off the charts on some like might say, and how you fit that into a club that wants to pay it and a club that Marcus Rashford wants to be in and feels happy in. So that's going to be the, the key that, that might be unlocking any potential deal in the summer.

Andy Mitten (32:33)

I think it's good for him to be at Barcelona. He's got himself back into the England team, you know, ahead of the, the World cup finals and he'd lost that position, he'd lost that status. So the move has been good for him because if you're playing in La Liga, it is a far better place to be playing than some of the other suitors who were interested in Marcus Rashford. He is very expensive, so he's married the idea of ultra competitive league, brilliant city, brilliant club, he's doing well. It's been an absolute success. There would be more suitors in for him this summer than there were last year. But he also has a say in it. If he's very happy and enjoying his football, then I'm sure he'd want to stay at Barcelona. But I also know that Barcelona would know that and use that as a negotiating position as well.

Ayo Akimolere (33:24)

I also think from Manchester United's perspective, Andy, like, compared to a player like maybe Sancho, where you're looking for suitors, someone please take him because of the high wages, he sort of played himself into a decent position at this point and possibly for Manchester United as well to try and maybe, maybe get some money or a decent fee for him.

Andy Mitten (33:42)

United absolutely want a decent fee for him. But a deal was struck with Barcelona. The numbers are there. The numbers exist and Manchester United would honor them. It's been a success for him. This is not someone you mentioned, Jadon Sancho. His value diminished rapidly now. He cost Manchester United a lot of money. Marcus Rashford didn't because he came through the youth system. But his wages were certainly a major factor for Manchester United, especially when he wasn't playing. Ruben Amarin made the decision that he didn't want him to be part of the future at Manchester United. I know he's now left the club, but I don't get any sense of Marcus Rashford's future being at Manchester United. I think all parties have moved on, as I've explained. So it's where he goes next. And I think a lot of United fans, he had his critics, obviously, but I think a lot of people have wished him well and are saying fair play. You've gone to a club and you're doing well for yourself.

Ayo Akimolere (34:49)

Paul, come on, be honest. Is he playing football at camp now next season?

Paul Balluz (34:53)

I'm not too sure. I have major doubts. I don't see barca paying the 26 million bike loss and then and honoring his contract. I think that that's an operation overall that I don't see a lot of clubs in Europe being able to afford this deal, basically. And I think that the only way for him to end up playing at the Camp Nou next season is that a compromise is made from any of the sides you might see at the buy option, which is not high. And I agree with that. But the whole operation, taking into account the United contract is a big one one, it's like really big one. And Barca, in a way, for a player that is not going to be a starter, they cannot pay him the salary of Pedri or like Lewandowski, which is the levels that he is right now more like Lewandowski than Pedri. So yeah, that's going to be the elephant in the room in summer. I think that the words and the noise that we are hearing from Barcelona being really clear in that they want to keep in next season is a part of that sort of action and role playing and like Barca showing that they really want him. But okay, let's see what happened in summer. So yeah, in the upcoming months I think that we're going to see more things unfolding as in what United thinks. I think that Man United, of course they can be expected to ask for some money for Marcus Rashford. And they are totally entitled to do so because he's been good enough at Barcelona. But I'm sure that they will be aware that if they don't want Marcus Rashford back, there's a sort of deal that involves a third 26 million bike loss plus honoring Rashford contract is something that no club in Europe maybe is going to afford.

Ayo Akimolere (36:31)

I do think about what Paul said about the loan, Andy.

Andy Mitten (36:33)

Yeah, I think he's. He's right to be circumspect because you've got. You've got three parties here with pretty strong viewpoints. It is still in play. You know, Marcos, is form until the end of the season will be a factor. Barcelona are back in camp now. The capacity should increase in stages. If that goes to plan, they'd have more revenues that if they do well in the Champions League. You know, they got to the semifinal last year with them spectacular games against Inter, more revenue. If you win the Champions League, suddenly your. Your pressures ease a little bit. A lot of the world who were turned off by Barcelona might be predisposed to have some love for Barcelona again. Because if I went back 20 years, Barcelona are a lot of people's second favorite club. And all the shenanigans that have gone on with the finances, it's put a lot of moderates off, I feel. And people fell for them, for Ronaldinho, for Messi, for whatever. They all had the reasons. And also La Liga became very popular in markets such as the British one as well. That's all changed. So people are following Marcus Rashford, but they're not following the domestic league as much. If he was to make a huge impact in the Champions League, if Barcelona were to win it, that would all add to the positives. But. But as we judge this in January, I think it has been a successful move for him, for Manchester United, for Marcus Rashford and for Barcelona. And there were doubts as to whether those three things will be the case at the start of the season.

Ayo Akimolere (38:04)

Okay, well, I'm sure more of this story will unfold. Gentlemen, appreciate your time as always. Paul, Andy, thanks for joining us. And also thank you guys for joining us as well. Matt Davis Adams will be with you for the preview on Friday. Looking ahead to that big one, Arsenal versus Manchester United.

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