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RASHFORD DEAL REGRET: MAN UTD "FUMING" AS BARCELONA PREPARED TO SNAG STAR FOR £26M

Manchester United regret the £26M Rashford deal: Discover why his Barcelona form and England recall have sparked a major row.

Rashford Deal Regret: Man Utd "fuming" as Barcelona prepared to snag star for £26M
Marcus Rashford returns to England squad for 2026 World Cup duty

Manchester United’s top brass are kicking themselves over the Marcus Rashford deal. Letting him go to Barcelona for just £26 million? That’s starting to look like a huge mistake.

Since landing in Spain last summer, Rashford has turned things around. He’s bagged 10 goals in 35 games, clawed his way back into Thomas Tuchel’s England squad, and now United figure he’s worth closer to £50 million. On top of that, other clubs are circling, hoping to snag him in the summer.

Back when they loaned him out, United gave Barcelona first dibs, capped at £26 million. Now, some folks at United are fuming about how they structured the deal. They’d rather see Rashford go anywhere else.

The thing is, Rashford loves life at Camp Nou and wants to stay. Barcelona see that, and they might even try to negotiate the price down further.

There’s talk that Michael Carrick, United’s interim boss, would welcome Rashford back in a heartbeat. Too bad there’s no recall clause. Even if everyone wanted a reunion, the contract blocks it.

Sir Jim Ratcliffe, United’s co-owner, still wants Rashford’s wages off the books. But the thought of Barcelona grabbing their 28-year-old star on the cheap doesn’t sit well with him.

Funny enough, Rashford’s one of United’s best-paid players, but over at Barcelona, he only comes in sixth on their pay scale. Manager Hansi Flick is pretty keen to keep him around, too.

Off the pitch, Rashford’s settling in. He bought a swanky flat in Esplugues with killer views of the Collserola mountains and is soaking up the Catalan lifestyle.

His £15 million-a-year United contract runs until 2028, but he’s told friends he’s not looking back. Leaving his boyhood club wasn’t easy, but he’s made his call.

He’s set to be picked for Tuchel’s England squad for the World Cup in North America this summer. 

WHY NO FINE? DISCOVER WHY THE GREEK COURT SCRAPPED MAGUIRE'S FINANCIAL PENALTY THIS WEEK

Harry Maguire’s retrial is over! Read about the 15-month suspended sentence, the Supreme Court appeal, and the Mykonos backstory.

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Harry Maguire guilty of assault in Greece; sentence reduced to 15 months

Manchester United defender Harry Maguire has been found guilty of non-serious assault in Greece and given a 15-month suspended jail sentence, down from the original 21 months after a retrial. This all goes back to 2020, when police arrested him while he was on holiday in Mykonos with family and friends.

The legal process dragged on for years. Maguire’s retrial finally happened on Wednesday, after four delays. He’s still fighting accusations of aggravated assault, resisting arrest, and attempted bribery from that night. Greek law meant his conviction got quashed automatically on appeal, so that’s why there was a retrial. Maguire skipped the hearing; he was busy preparing for United’s game against Newcastle. On top of the shorter sentence, he doesn’t have to pay a fine anymore.

All this started in the summer break between the 2019-20 and 2020-21 seasons, just a year after Maguire joined United for a then-record £80 million. He was the club captain and a regular for England.

Right after his arrest, Maguire told the BBC how he thought he was getting kidnapped. He said plain-clothes police pulled over his group’s minibus, yanked him off, hit him on the legs, and shouted that his career was finished. “They hit me a lot on the legs. It wasn’t on my mind. I was in that much of a panic. Fear. Scared for my life,” he said. Maguire tried to run off with one handcuff still on, not knowing who these men were. He also said, “I don’t feel I owe an apology to anybody. An apology is something you do when you have done something wrong. I don’t wish it on anybody. Obviously, the situation has made it difficult for one of the biggest clubs in the world, so I regret putting the fans and the club through this, but I did nothing wrong. I found myself in a situation where it could have happened to anybody, anywhere.”

That first trial in 2020 caught him off guard. “It was horrible. It was such a quick turnaround; it was incredible. We got the pages for the transcript for the court the evening before. A big document, all in Greek. I hardly had any chance to speak to my lawyer. We were confident the case would be adjourned to give us more time to prepare and get the witnesses and the evidence that we have. For it all happened so quickly... we obviously didn’t expect the trial to go ahead,” he said.

Now, just ahead of his 33rd birthday, Maguire still refuses to settle the case with money. He wants to clear his name in court. He plans to appeal to the Supreme Court if he wins and the judgment gets thrown out.

CONTRACTUAL LIFELINE: UNEARTHING THE STRATEGY BEHIND ANDRE ONANA’S RETURN FROM TURKISH LOAN SPELL

Onana vs Lammens: Get the latest on the £44M keeper’s return from Turkey and why Michael Carrick values "reliability over chaos."

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Michael Carrick Praises "Reliable" Senne Lammens As Onana Loan Nears End

Andre Onana isn’t giving up on his Manchester United career, even with his replacement grabbing the spotlight while he’s away on loan. Right now, Onana’s spending the 2025/26 season with Trabzonspor in Turkey, while Senne Lammens has stepped up as United’s new first-choice keeper.

United signed Lammens from Royal Antwerp for £18 million on deadline day last September, and soon after, Onana was shipped out on loan. There’s no option for Trabzonspor to buy him, so Onana will be back at United this summer. He’s already played 72 games for the club.

Onana has turned out 20 times for Trabzonspor, but honestly, United probably aren’t paying much attention. Lammens has looked rock-solid in goal, holding down the spot for 21 straight matches, no matter if Amorim, Darren Fletcher, or Michael Carrick was in charge.

So far, Lammens has five clean sheets and is anchoring a defence that’s clearly improving under Carrick. Altay Bayindir is backing him up, and Tom Heaton is still kicking around in the goalkeeping group.

When United first bought Onana for £44 million from Inter Milan, he was reuniting with Erik ten Hag, his old Ajax boss. He’s still got two years left on his contract. According to Geremi Onana’s friend and a former Cameroon and Chelsea player, Onana hasn’t lost hope of turning things around.

“Listen, I know Andre very well, and there were a lot of issues at United during his time there,” Geremi told Telecom Asia. “It wasn’t all on him. But with Michael Carrick coming in, things are looking up for everyone, including Andre.

“He’s got real talent, and players like him don’t come around often. The next step is for him to go back and fight for his spot. Andre always rises to a challenge. Give him a fair shot, and he’ll show you what he can do.”

We’ll find out what’s next for Onana this summer. United are planning big changes, including a new permanent manager. Carrick is one of the names in the running.

If Carrick gets the job, Onana’s chances might take a hit, since the interim boss is thrilled with Lammens. After Lammens’ man-of-the-match showing in the 1-0 win over Everton, Carrick said, “For me, a keeper needs to be reliable, someone who calms things down, not adds to the chaos. Senne does exactly that.

“He’s quiet and maybe a bit unassuming, but he’s got real steel in him. Stepping in as United’s keeper is a big ask, and not everyone handles it. Sometimes it takes a while to settle, sometimes not. The way he’s handled it so far, he’s calm and composed, and that’s made a huge difference for the defence.”

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