Barcelona head coach Hansi Flick has said the club will miss Marcus Rashford after deciding against signing the Manchester United forward permanently.
Rashford, 28, could have remained at Barcelona for £26million, but the La Liga champions opted against the permanent move. Instead, Anthony Gordon has joined Barcelona from Newcastle United for around £70m.
Flick on Rashford
Speaking after Barcelona's 2-2 friendly draw with Birmingham City at St Andrew's on Friday, a game the Blues won on penalties, Flick said: "What I can say about Marcus is I appreciate a lot to work with him."
"Sometimes it's not always that you do know what happens with players who are on loan. I think our situation is not easy for that. But I appreciate working with him a lot; he's a fantastic player and a fantastic person. I think also the team miss him, I will miss him, but it's life, this is what we have to accept."
Gordon replaces Rashford
Flick also spoke about Gordon, saying: "At the end, Anthony Gordon comes and from the first call with him when I spoke with him, he's on fire for Barcelona and he wants to go there and I'm really happy that he is now in our team."
Gordon beat Rashford to a place in Thomas Tuchel's England squad for the World Cup this summer, starting the round-of-16, quarter-final and semi-final ties. Rashford scored 14 goals and assisted 11 in 49 appearances in all competitions for Barcelona last season.
Rashford thanks Barcelona
The forward thanked Barcelona on Instagram on Thursday, writing: "I'm very grateful to everyone at the club for making my time here such a positive and memorable experience. I've enjoyed every moment and will take many special memories with me. I wish the club and all its supporters the very best of luck and every success in the season ahead. Visca el Barça"
Rashford is now due to return to United for pre-season training after his extended break following World Cup duty. He is expected back in a couple of weeks, with a likely reconciliation at United after two loan spells away.
