Earlier this week we reported that Barcelona were close on Anthony Gordon. The deal is now done, and it resets where Marcus Rashford sits in the club's summer plans. Barcelona agreed a £69.3m (€80m) move for Gordon, inclusive of add-ons, after he passed a medical and before Friday evening's confirmation. His contract runs for five years and includes a 20 per cent sell-on clause.
What Barcelona bought in Gordon
The fee is large, but the club are not buying a punt. Gordon delivered 6 Premier League goals in 26 appearances and a 7.08 rating in 2025, plus 10 goals in 12 Champions League appearances at 7.53. That is the profile Barcelona have chosen to pay for, a winger who has already produced in league football and on the European stage.
Gordon said he found out late, but once Barca was serious there was no question for him. “I found out very late from Barca. But as soon as I knew Barca was a serious option, there was never any question. I always wanted Barca. Barca is the biggest club on the planet. This is the stuff I dreamed of as a child. It really is a dream come true to be here,” he told talksport.com. That kind of reaction fits the move, even if the price is not cheap.
Why Rashford is still not out of the picture
The more important part for Barcelona's wider attack is that Gordon does not close the door on Rashford. Sky Sports News said the club's hierarchy “have remained hesitant to make the deal for the Manchester United forward permanent, yet they have shown none of that caution with his international team-mate despite their financial restrictions.” That is the clearest read of where things stand.
Barcelona have agreed personal terms with Rashford, but the preferred outcome is still another loan deal or a reduced fee rather than the permanent move Manchester United want. Rashford's 32 La Liga appearances and 5 Champions League goals in 11 games mean he is already part of the conversation. He is just not the priority right now.
Julián Alvarez also remains in the frame, and that matters because Barcelona are still weighing up a premium striker chase alongside the winger move. Alvarez's 10 Champions League goals in 15 appearances keep him in that top tier of targets. If Barcelona go hard again for him, Rashford becomes the fallback option; if they do not, the cheaper loan structure suddenly looks a lot more likely.
The key point is not that Rashford is gone from the picture. It is that Gordon's arrival makes the club's order of business clearer, and Rashford is now waiting on how far they push with Alvarez and how much they want to spend on a permanent deal.
Written by Daniel Hartley with AI-assisted research, cross-checked against 2 outlets. How we work →
