Rashford completes medicals ahead of Barca move

Marcus Rashford has completed his medical at FC Barcelona's training facility, the Ciutat Esportiva Joan Gamper. The 27-year-old arrived from Manchester on a private jet on Sunday and reported early this morning for a thorough fitness check ahead of his loan move. Rashford met with Barça sporting director Deco and board member Joan Soler. The trio spent several hours at the facility as final preparations were made for his official unveiling.

Fitness Cleared After Injury Concerns

Barcelona placed extra emphasis on Rashford's medical, mindful of the hamstring injury that ruled him out of the final games of his loan at Aston Villa last season. After undergoing intense training this summer in Marbella, the English forward has been declared fully fit and ready to play.

Rashford is expected to meet his new Barça teammates tomorrow. His contract signing with club president Joan Laporta will take place on Wednesday afternoon at the Spotify Camp Nou offices. An official club announcement will follow shortly after.

Historic Transfer: First Englishman Since Lineker

With this move, Rashford becomes only the second English player to join FC Barcelona since Gary Lineker’s arrival in 1986, a nearly 40-year gap. The transfer marks a rare and historic step in Barça's history. Lineker posted a photo of himself and Rashford in Instagram after the news broke.

For over a century, only his compatriot Gary Winston Lineker played for the Blaugrana first team, between 1986 and 1989. Many of the footballers who arrived at Barcelona at the beginning of the 20th century were Scottish, such as the goalscorer George Pattullo. In contemporary football, there was an English midfielder who, while playing for Barça's reserve team between 2018 and 2020, even played in a Catalan Super Cup. Marcus McGuane, now a Bristol player, is the only Englishman to have played in the Barça first team since Lineker.It's clear that the 1986 World Cup's top scorer is, by career and charisma, a footballer who is highly regarded by Barcelona fans.

Post-Brexit Impact: Rashford Takes a Non-EU Slot

Due to Brexit, Rashford now counts as a non-EU player under La Liga rules. He will occupy one of the three available foreign-player slots allowed under the Liga-AFE agreement. All other foreign Barça players currently hold EU passports. The rest of the current first-team foreign players have EU nationality. This scenario includes Uruguayan Ronald Araujo, who has Spanish nationality. The other, more notable case is Raphinha, who has Italian nationality despite his Brazilian origins.