Barcelona want to keep Marcus Rashford beyond the end of his current loan, according to recent reports, with the club exploring options to register him for the 2026–27 season. Rashford has become a meaningful contributor this term, the first male England international to play for Barcelona since Gary Lineker in the 1980s, and has recorded seven goals and eight assists across all competitions. Only two team-mates, Lamine Yamal and Fermín López, have produced better returns.

The forward initially benefited from injuries within Barcelona’s frontline but is not an automatic starter when the squad is fully available. He was among the substitutes when Hansi Flick’s side thumped Athletic Club in the Spanish Super Cup semi-final, and he was not expected to be included from the first whistle in Sunday’s final against Real Madrid.

Reports say the loan contains a release clause of €30 million (£26 million, $34.9 million). The coverage does not explicitly state Barcelona will trigger that clause, only that the club want Rashford on the books beyond this season. How Barcelona proceed may involve negotiation over price or further temporary measures given their strict financial constraints. As Flick put it: “The truth is, the club can’t pay hundreds of millions for a new player, like other teams, so we have to be smart with our players.”

Rashford’s preference to remain in Spain is clear. “Of course, what I want is to stay at Barça.”

At Manchester United, attitudes appear unchanged despite changes in coaching personnel. Amorim may have been the one to drop Rashford before the first Manchester derby of the 2024–25 season and never give him another minute for United. He is also reported to have said he would rather name his 63-year-old goalkeeping coach Jorge Vital on the bench instead of Rashford, and Rashford was banned from United’s training ground until the coach had left for the day during the summer window. The Athletic claims that “United as a club” shared the coach’s desire for “more application” from Rashford.

Barcelona’s apparent interest and the player’s own wishes create a negotiated path that both clubs will need to navigate before the loan expires in June.

Reports linking Xavi Hernández to Manchester United have some basis, but the momentum appears to be coming chiefly from the coach rather than the club.

A first full season in charge at Barcelona delivered the Spanish Super Cup and the 2022–23 La Liga crown ahead of a Real Madrid side led by Karim Benzema. The tensions beneath that success then surfaced in the next campaign, which ended without a trophy and finished with Xavi relieved of his duties.

According to Fabrizio Romano, Xavi is “ready” to return to management, “would love to take a job in the Premier League” and is “very open” to the Manchester United opportunity created by Ruben Amorim’s departure. The same report also stressed that “nothing advanced” and “nothing concrete” has arisen between the club and Xavi.

Xavi’s return to Barcelona was presented as a restoration of a long tradition. As Pep Guardiola put it, “Johan Cruyff painted the chapel,” Guardiola once mused. “And Barcelona coaches since merely restore or improve it.” With just a little more than two years coaching in Qatar on his résumé, Xavi made clear his commitment to possession football: “We cannot lose our ‘house style,’” he declared. “That’s the thing which has made the club great.”

During his two full seasons as Barcelona boss, the team averaged 64% possession in La Liga, but sustained penetration was often lacking. The 2022–23 title owed as much to Robert Lewandowski converting half-chances as to a tight defence. Half of Barcelona’s league wins in that period were by a single-goal margin and 1–0 was the most common scoreline.

Xavi himself acknowledged the frustrations: “I lose my patience because I see the pass but what I think should happen doesn’t happen,” he admitted shortly before announcing his decision to quit in January 2024. The hierarchy persuaded him to stay, confirming that decision in April, and his dismissal was revealed in May. He often said that “Barcelona is the most difficult club to manage in the world.”

As ex-United defender Gary Neville noted on Sky Sports, “Barcelona will never change for anybody,” he told Sky Sports. “I don’t believe United should change for anybody. The club has to find a manager who has got experience and who’s willing to play fast, entertaining, attacking and aggressive football.” Given the current picture, any move for Xavi would require careful thought on both sides.

Management at the highest level remains unforgiving. Several well-regarded coaches sit without jobs after spells that combined notable achievements with abrupt endings.

Thiago Motta’s early career was uneven. His Genoa debut lasted 10 games before dismissal, but he steadied matters at Spezia, keeping the club in Serie A despite a transfer ban. Motta then overachieved at Bologna, taking them from ninth place to Champions League qualification, the club’s first appearance in Europe’s top tier since 1965. A 42-match return to Juventus followed and produced the lowest win percentage at the club in well over a decade.

Lucien Favre remains a mixed figure. He enjoyed strong spells at Borussia Mönchengladbach and during his first stint at Nice but faltered at Borussia Dortmund. A return to Nice lasted only half a season and Favre has been out of work since January 2023.

Xavi secured Barcelona’s 2022–23 La Liga title, yet his final season was turbulent and disjointed as the club’s entorno swallowed him. Questions persist about his long-term suitability at the very top level.

Ange Postecoglou’s tenure at Nottingham Forest ended in October 2025 after 39 days and eight games without a win, making him the shortest-reigning manager in the club’s history. His record elsewhere, however, includes trophies with South Melbourne, Brisbane Roar, Yokohama Marinos, Celtic and Europa League success with Tottenham Hotspur. “It’s just who he is, mate.”

Roger Schmidt left Benfica at the start of 2024–25 after a title-winning 2022–23 campaign and now serves as the J.League’s Global Football Advisor. Will Still rose fast at Reims with a 14-game unbeaten run but left in May 2024 as the team declined. Subsequent spells at Lens and Southampton produced further setbacks.

Other figures on the market include Gareth Southgate, who stepped down after Euro 2024 following eight years in charge of England; Erik ten Hag, dismissed early in 2024–25 then sacked by Bayer Leverkusen after three competitive matches in 2025; Marco Rose, Joachim Löw, Enzo Maresca, Edin Terzić, Laurent Blanc, Zinedine Zidane and Jürgen Klopp, each with differing recent trajectories and questions about what comes next.