Marcus Rashford eager to make Barcelona loan permanent
Rashford joined Barcelona on loan from Manchester United
He is currently the joint leading scorer with five goals
Rashford has also contributed 20 chances, second only to Pedri
Marcus Rashford wants to stay at Barcelona upon the expiration of his loan switch from Manchester United.
Rashford joined Barca on a season-long loan from United in the summer, having fallen out of favour under Ruben Amorim.
The 27-year-old has hit the ground running in LaLiga, and leads Barca for goal involvements (nine) in all competitions, and is their joint-leading scorer with five goals, alongside Ferran Torres and Fermin Lopez, having netted twice in a 6-1 Champions League rout of Olympiacos on Tuesday.
Only Pedri (26) has created more chances for Barca this term than Rashford (20), who is under contract at United until 2028.
However, with his loan to Barca including an option to buy, the England international is eager to stay in Spain.
"Oh yeah, for sure," Rashford told ESPN when asked if he wants to extend his stay at Barca.
"I'm enjoying this football club and I think for anybody who loves football, Barcelona is one of the key clubs in the history of the game. For a player, it's an honour.
"People forget this, but 23 years of my life was with Manchester United. So sometimes you just need a change. I think maybe this is the case with me and I'm enjoying everything.
"I just believe that things happen when they're supposed to happen.
"It's not the first time I spoke with Barcelona about potentially coming here, but for whatever reasons it didn't happen in the past and now is my opportunity to make it happen.
"I feel like there's no time like the present now. So I just take things day to day.
"The key thing for me is just to continue to improve because when you retire, you're going to miss everything – the good stuff, the bad stuff – you're going to miss it about the sport.
"I just take it day by day and just try to improve from the day before.
"The main focus is to win football matches, this is why I joined this club, and it's what the club demands."
No stranger to huge rivalry clashes from his time with United, Rashford will be aiming to make an impact when Barca take on Real Madrid in El Clasico on Sunday.
With Raphinha having only just returned to training following an injury lay-off, Hansi Flick may well turn to Rashford to start on the left flank.
