Marcus Rashford’s lack of minutes bring fresh doubts about his Barcelona future

Barcelona, Spain – A fortnight ago Marcus Rashford’s long-term future at Camp Nou appeared settled; today the English forward finds himself at the centre of a fresh storm after back-to-back matches in which he failed to make it off the bench. Spanish media outlets are openly questioning whether the 27-year-old will still be wearing blaugrana colours beyond the current campaign.

Marca led the charge on Thursday with a blunt headline: “Something’s going on with Rashford.” The Madrid-based daily points out that the forward has not featured for a single minute in Barcelona’s last two fixtures and labels Hansi Flick’s decision to omit him entirely as “strange.” The same report highlights a stark dip in productivity: Rashford’s past 15 appearances have yielded three goals and one assist, a sharp fall from the seven goals and eight assists recorded in the previous 20 matches.

Diario AS struck a similarly cautious tone, suggesting “the continuity of the English striker could be in danger.” With Raphinha returning to full fitness and rediscovering form, AS expects Rashford to remain on the periphery in the short term, intensifying speculation over his medium-term role in Flick’s squad.

Barcelona’s recruitment department, meanwhile, continues to canvas alternatives. Club scouts remain in regular contact over the progress of winger Abde and teenage talent Héctor Virgili, while Benfica’s Andreas Schjelderup is also under close scrutiny, according to Marca.

Rashford’s next opportunity to force his way back into contention arrives on Sunday when Barcelona host Rayo Vallecano. Should he again be consigned to the bench, the forward will depart for international duty with England for friendlies against Uruguay and Japan, hoping to regain sharpness and, crucially, confidence before the season’s decisive stretch.

What seemed a formality only weeks ago—Rashford extending his Catalan adventure—has quickly morphed into one of the spring’s most intriguing subplots.