Marcus Rashford Can't Wait to Team Up with Barcelona Wonderkid Lamine Yamal

Marcus Rashford expressed his enthusiasm about partnering with Lamine Yamal at Barcelona for the upcoming campaign, following his loan transfer from Manchester United.

Barcelona pursued Rashford, who spent the 2024–25 season on loan at Aston Villa, after unsuccessful attempts to secure Nico Williams or Luis Díaz. The England forward is anticipated to provide primary backup across the entire attacking line, meaning regular starting chances should be available to him.

Rashford had already praised Yamal before joining the Catalan club, so his continued glowing comments about the young star come as no shock.

"[Yamal] possesses extraordinary talent, and in my opinion, particularly last season, he ranks among the world's top players, possibly the very best," Rashford stated during his unveiling press conference.

"Every player wants to compete alongside the elite, and this squad is filled with exceptional ability.

"I'm thrilled and anxious to share the field with them. Perhaps I can contribute to their development, and certainly, they can enhance my game. This promises to be thrilling."

Yamal recently celebrated his 18th birthday and is nearly ten years Rashford's junior, with the latter approaching 28 on his October 31 birthday. However, Rashford understands the experience of making a significant impact at a young age, though perhaps not quite as dramatically, given his own emergence as an 18-year-old at Manchester United.

He burst onto the scene seemingly from nowhere in early 2016, thrust into the senior squad due to injury concerns and finding himself in the starting lineup for a Europa League match against Denmark's FC Midtjylland. He netted twice that evening and duplicated the feat against Arsenal in Premier League action just days afterward.