Marcus Rashford returned to Manchester this week to work out in Salford before celebrating his 28th birthday.
Rashford has started promisingly at Barca, contributing to 12 goals in 13 matches since joining on a season-long loan last summer.
With no European cup fixtures this week, Rashford flew home to continue his personal training program. The England winger shared several videos on Instagram showing his workout at The Performance Space gym in Salford. Born in 1997, he is hoping Barca will activate the purchase option next summer — accompanied by the caption: “Making the most of every bit of progress with 48 hours back home.”
It is likely Rashford returned to Manchester to meet friends and family before his 28th birthday, which coincides with Halloween.
This week, goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny (a new teammate and former Arsenal player) praised Rashford’s dedication. On Barca’s official YouTube channel, Szczesny said: “He is an outstanding player, I really like Rashford. He plays direct, attacks with pace, and has contributed to many goals. Rashford deserves to score more, because when he’s in top form during training, almost no one can stop him.
If he can show that magical right foot more often in matches, he will be extremely dangerous. I think Rashford is a complete player, and I remember when he was 18 or 19 in the Premier League, I already knew he was a special talent.”
During his stay in Northwest England, longtime friend Luke Shaw posted a photo of his son wearing a shirt with Rashford’s name. The post received a reply from Rashford himself, who wrote “RS” with a heart emoji, believed to be directed to Shaw’s son, Reign.
This weekend, Rashford will return to Spain to join Barca in hosting Elche FC at home on Sunday. The English striker has scored 5 goals in 13 matches across all competitions but was unable to prevent Barca’s 1-2 loss to Real Madrid in the recent El Clasico.
Notably, upon landing in Madrid before the match, Rashford was spotted watching Manchester United’s victory over Brighton on his phone.