Marcus Rashford has made a very strong start to life at Barcelona, following his loan move from Manchester United in the summer. The forward, who turned 28 on Friday, has 10 goal contributions in 13 appearances across all competition, which included the assist for Fermin Lopez’s goal in his El Clasico debut last weekend.

Rashford has been afforded the opportunity to be Barcelona’s first-choice left winger due to Raphinha’s injury struggles, and he has taken it with both hands. Already, there is focus on his possible long-term future in Catalonia, given that there is an option to buy in the loan agreement with Man United.

Rashford has already made it clear that he wants to stay on a permanent basis, and according to Sport, Barcelona are already working towards making this happen.

Rashford must lower salary to stay at Barcelona

It’s unlikely that the transfer fee will be a problem for Barcelona, so the only sticking point is Rashford’s wages. The 28-year-old currently earns a salary in excess of £300,000 per week at Man United, and in order to remain in Catalonia, he would be required to take a significant pay cut. Furthermore, the club would ask him to accept a longer contract, as this would allow his salary to be stretched across many years.

Barcelona are very happy with Rashford, who has shown himself to be a very valuable asset for Hansi Flick’s side. However, it is also true that the club is very squeezed with their salary limit, so it makes a lot of sense to ask him to reduce his wages by a significant amount.

It would be no surprise to see Rashford accept this demand, given his strong desire to remain as as a Barcelona player. For now, the working theory is that this will happen eventually, even if it is not early in next summer’s transfer window.