Marcus Rashford is at St. James’ Park for Barcelona’s Champions League meeting against Newcastle United, but he also reunited with a former Manchester United team-mate
Marcus Rashford had a pleasant reunion with former Manchester United team-mate Wayne Rooney. The Red’s academy graduate went out of his way to greet United’s record goal scorer at St. James’ Park.
Rashford, 28, was named on the bench by Barcelona, who are pondering signing him permanently, for their away clash against Newcastle United in the Champions League. The England international scored twice against the Magpies earlier in the season, but he will only be looking ahead to the crucial Champions League round of 16 tie.
However, while he would have been focussed coming into the home of the Toon, Rashford found time for a brief reunion with Rooney and ex-England colleague Daniel Sturridge.
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The former United colleagues shared a short but sweet exchange pitchside at St. James’ Park. They had a hug and shared a brief laugh, before the Barcelona ace started walking to his changing room.
Their reunion comes nearly five months after Rooney criticised Rashford’s performances at Old Trafford. Early into his loan move at the Nou Camp, Rashford suggested his struggles at United were down to an “inconsistent environment”.
Rooney was not convinced by Rashford’s reasoning and stated the England international could have worked harder while he was at Old Trafford.
Speaking on his podcast, The Wayne Rooney Show, the ex-United skipper said: “I think the environment hasn’t been right but that is down to yourself. If you are not playing well or you get left out of the team then I think it is easier to blame the environment and whether that is right or wrong.
“I think that comes from how you apply yourself. In games we have seen with him where we know he can do more, we know he can run more – that is nothing to do with an environment.
“I might be wrong here, I really like Marcus as a lad and as a person but I think that is an easy one to throw at people.”
Before his loan move to Barcelona, Rashford was frozen out of the United squad by former manager Ruben Amorim. The Portuguese boss loaned the forward to Aston Villa in January 2025, before signing off on a temporary move to Catalunya.
There’s a possibility Barcelona will look to make Rashford’s loan switch permanent when the season comes to an end. The Blaugrana have an option to sign him permanently for £26million, as per a clause in their loan agreement with United.
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