Marcus Rashford scored an absolute worldie free-kick in El Clasico and somehow that still is not enough to answer the question everyone is asking. What actually happens to this lad next season?
Marcus Rashford has had one of the strangest career arcs in recent memory. A few years ago he was being talked about as England's next great striker, a genuine top level talent with everything ahead of him. Then it all went sideways at United, the form dried up, the confidence went, and suddenly he was being shipped out on loan to Barcelona like a slightly dodgy transfer that nobody quite believed was happening. And yet here he is, scoring in El Clasico. El Clasico. The biggest club game on the planet.
The free-kick itself was filthy. Top corner, no messing. The kind of goal that makes you sit back and think maybe, just maybe, this fella still has it buried somewhere inside him. It is like Rocky in the third act. You had written him off and then suddenly he is punching again and you feel a bit guilty for doubting him.
But here is the thing. One goal, however brilliant, does not answer the real question. Barcelona are not exactly flush with cash right now, everyone knows that. A permanent deal looks complicated at best and completely unrealistic at worst. And United? They do not seem to want him back either. So Rashford is essentially floating between two clubs who both like him in theory and neither can fully commit to him in practice.
It is genuinely sad when you think about it. The talent was always there. The question was always whether the situation around him would ever let it breathe. At Barcelona he looks like a footballer again. Relaxed, confident, actually enjoying himself. That has to count for something.
Whether it counts for a permanent contract though is a completely different matter. The football was gorgeous. The future is still an absolute mess. Someone needs to make a decision soon because this limbo is helping nobody, least of all Rashford himself.
Let me know your thoughts.