Marcus Rashford's hopes of becoming a Barcelona player continue to hang in the balance after the club's cash shortage was laid bare. Following a successful season-long loan, the Catalan giants have the option to buy the Manchester United forward outright for around £26 million this summer. However, Barcelona are struggling to afford the fee and are hoping to negotiate it down or extend his loan for another season.
That would go against the wishes of United, who want to cut ties with Rashford once and for all. Barcelona have until June 15 to trigger their option, but the club's ability to stump up the fee looks questionable amid reports that the club is 'running out of money' to complete work on the revamped Nou Camp.
Nou Camp renovation overruns
Having spent a period playing at the Olympic Stadium, Barcelona returned to their legendary home in November, although the renovation work still isn't finished and the capacity has been capped at just under 63,000. The overall project has overrun and gone over budget, with a £1.25 billion loan from Goldman Sachs proving not enough to complete the project.
As a result, the club will ask to have its credit limit increased at either the upcoming Extraordinary General Assembly in July or at the next ordinary meeting before the start of next season. If or when the extra finance is secured, the club will focus on building the two VIP rings and the third tier. That could take until next summer before the final stage, adding a roof, which will necessitate another temporary ground move, presumably back to the Olympic Stadium in Montjuic, although a dispute with Barcelona City Council has raised questions over that.
Other clubs circling
Those financial issues go some way to explaining why Barcelona are reluctant to pay the full option fee of £26 million for Rashford, who could see his hopes of joining permanently crushed. Other clubs are waiting in the wings as Barcelona continue to stall. They include Bayern Munich, who are prepared to meet United's asking price but, according to The Sun, not his current wages.
Marca report that the 28-year-old has no interest in joining Vincent Kompany's side and is not responding to any approaches from other clubs, including Bayern. However, unless Barcelona can strike a deal with United, he may not have a choice. For now, Rashford will be focused on the World Cup and England's final pre-tournament friendly against Costa Rica on Wednesday.
