Marcus Rashford's behaviour brought up as Gary Lineker speaks out about Man Utd return

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Gary Lineker has pointed out Marcus Rashford ’s impeccable behaviour at Barcelona while urging the forward not to return to Manchester United . Rashford, 28, joined the Catalan giants last summer on a season-long loan deal, having been frozen out of the United squad by Ruben Amorim .

The England international has impressed during his time in Spain, managing 10 goals and 13 assists in 36 appearances across all competitions this season. His success with the La Liga side, who are currently leading the table, has made it increasingly likely that Barcelona will make his move permanent at the end of this season .

The Blaugrana hold a £26million option to sign him in the summer, and it was reported by SPORT last weekend that the club have made a breakthrough in agreeing a salary with Rashford, should they reach an agreement with United.

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Amorim, who criticised Rashford’s application in training sessions, was sacked by United in January and replaced by Michael Carrick. With Carrick at the helm and United now thriving, some fans have urged the club to keep their talented academy graduate despite his Old Trafford career seemingly being over for more than a year.

However, former Barcelona striker Lineker has shut down that idea, given how well Rashford has settled in on and off the pitch in Catalonia, saying a return to United would only bring the British media circus on his back again. Along with advocating for him to stay at Barcelona, Lineker heaped praise on Rashford’s behaviour while suggesting he was unfairly targeted in England for his off-field incidents .

Lineker said on The Rest Is Football podcast: "He’s not getting many minutes at the moment. That’s for obvious reasons. Lamine Yamal is playing on the right and Raphinha is playing on the left and they are both in the top five players in world football. So it’s understandable. But whenever he comes on he does really well."

Speaking about the likelihood of Rashford remaining at Barcelona, Lineker added: "I think that would be a great move for him, don’t you? It looks promising for him."

Podcast co-host Alex Aljoe shed light on Barcelona being impressed with his off-field behaviour even when he hasn’t been starting games. She replied: "Barcelona have really liked his attitude, the fact he hasn’t been starting week in week out but he’s delivered when he’s been brought on to the pitch.

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"His head’s in the right place. He’s not moaning or sulking when he’s not playing. He’s coming on and proving his quality when he’s given the opportunity.

"He was criticised at Manchester United for his attitude at times but it seems he’s really enjoying life in Barcelona and he’s really happy there. He’s clearly settling in well.

"I think it would be a great move for him to make it permanent." Lineker agreed, saying: "I think he’s been really excellent in that [how he’s conducted himself]."

On the subject of whether United will keep him this summer, Lineker continued: "I think it will come down to Marcus. If he goes back to Manchester United he will face all the old criticism again.

"Oh, ‘He’s focusing too much on helping kids have food on their table’, like it’s a bad thing. They did this bizarre thing about why he was wearing some kind of flashy necklace.

"They don’t do that nonsense over there [in Spain] so he just gets on with his football. It was a fresh start and I would imagine he’s really loving it and not getting all the off-field nonsense he gets in this country. They leave you to live your life. It doesn’t compare to how our media is here."