Marcus Rashford's dream transfer almost dashed as Barcelona chief comments on enormous demands

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Barcelona sporting director Deco has praised Marcus Rashford for thriving after the "enormous demands" he played under at Manchester United . And the club icon has also revealed on-loan Rashford was close to joining another club last summer.

Rashford, 28, made the move to Catalonia after falling out of Ruben Amorim's graces back at Old Trafford. He spent the second half of last season on loan at Aston Villa before Barca raised interest in his services.

And it's emerged just how invested Villa were in keeping the England international. However, according to Deco, Rashford only had eyes for one move once the prospect presented itself.

"Yes, definitely," the Barcelona legend told Sport when asked if he and the rest of the board are pleased with Rashford's progress. "I think it wasn't easy to come here. He has played at a very high level, with enormous demands at a club like Manchester United.

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"Then he spent six months at Aston Villa, where he did a very good job. In fact, Aston Villa, they would have kept him if it had been possible. I know this because I've spoken to people there.

"But he only wanted to come to Barca, and that's a very positive thing. We were able to secure a loan. The fact that he took a pay cut to make it happen is a clear demonstration that he really wanted to come, and we're very happy about that. He's a player who contributes a lot to the team."

Deco, 48, is right in that the salary sacrifice was a vital contribution to get Rashford's Barcelona loan over the line. The Spanish powerhouse's finances wouldn't allow them to sign him on his previous £300,000 a week terms at United, and he agreed to reduce his fee to £225,000 a week to make the move happen.

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The Portuguese mastermind is also correct in asserting how that action made clear just how eager Rashford was to join. And it's showed in his performances thus far at the Camp Nou, where he has scored 10 goals and assisted another 13 in 34 outings.

It stands to reason that Rashford is reportedly intent on converting the loan move into a permanent one at the end of this season. Hansi Flick has spoken positively about his loanee, who has a £26million purchase clause in his agreement.

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However, not even that may be low enough for Barca to take the plunge. That's following reports suggesting the Catalans have asked United if they can pay a smaller sum to convert Rashford into a permanent signing.

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