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.

2025 became a year defined by prolonged recoveries and recurring setbacks for a run of leading players. Long absences and repeated rehabilitation programmes limited availability across several clubs and competitions.

At Arsenal the season was hit by injuries to key forwards. Kai Havertz had never suffered a serious injury prior to a hamstring tear that sidelined him for three months at the end of last season. After playing in Arsenal’s opening day victory over Manchester United, the 26-year-old was forced to undergo knee surgery and has been sidelined ever since, although a recent return to training has lifted spirits. Gabriel Jesus tore his ACL in January during an FA Cup clash with Man Utd and has only recently returned to be an option for the manager.

Barcelona endured a troubled period in goal and defence. Marc-André ter Stegen returned in December but has been usurped as first-choice following the summer signing of Joan García. Ter Stegen, briefly stripped of the captaincy amid his injury woes, played just five games for club and country in 2025 after missing the first four months of the year and a further four-and-a-half months at the start of the current campaign. Andreas Christensen missed the bulk of the calendar year through five separate fitness issues and a fresh injury in December will sideline him for a number of months.

Bayern Munich saw several first-team players affected. Jamal Musiala missed the end of Bayern’s title-winning campaign before a broken leg and ankle dislocation at the Club World Cup left him out until a recent return to team training. Alphonso Davies suffered an ACL tear in March and has only recently returned to action.

Chelsea’s Roméo Lavia suffered five separate injuries during 2025 and has made just 11 appearances in the 2025–26 season to date, presently sidelined with a muscle strain. Manchester City’s Rodri never got the chance to back up his 2024 Ballon d’Or victory after an ACL injury kept him out until last May; a hamstring suffered at the Club World Cup has limited him to eight appearances since that tournament.

Manchester United’s Lisandro Martínez missed over nine months after an ACL injury in February, returning in late November. Real Madrid endured recurring problems: Éder Militão missed almost the entirety of last term through an ACL tear, has suffered two further muscle injuries this season and faces a return timeline until April 2026. Dani Carvajal has managed just eight appearances since the Club World Cup and is currently sidelined with a knee problem. David Alaba missed all of 2024 and has since been struck by four separate ailments, absent for 30 matches across the calendar year.

Elsewhere, Neymar suffered six separate injuries for Santos and Brazil and required a knee operation in December, while Tottenham’s Dejan Kulusevski missed eight months across 2025. The season underlined how quickly injury can derail momentum for top-level players and teams alike.