How 24-year-old Barcelona star’s exit can create room for Marcus Rashford – the numbers

As reported a while back, Barcelona have reached an agreement over personal terms with Manchester United winger Marcus Rashford over a loan move in the ongoing transfer window.

The Red Devils academy graduate, out of favour under Ruben Amorim, has agreed to join the Blaugrana on loan for the remainder of the season.

Now that things are agreed with the player, Barça need to free up some salary space to accommodate the 27-year-old attacker on their roster.

Eric Garcia’s exit could hold the key

And, as per SPORT, Eric Garcia could be the player who is sacrificed by Barcelona to create room for Rashford’s signing.

The expected €10 million from former defender Oscar Mingueza’s departure from Celta Vigo seems unlikely now that Aston Villa have seemingly ended their pursuit of the player.

Ansu Fati had been touted for an exit having fallen out of favour under Hansi Flick but remains determined to stay.

Given these circumstances, the player most likely to leave the team is Garcia. The 24-year-old versatile defender has an offer to return to Girona, but this time on a permanent transfer.

As reported earlier, Girona are willing to offer Barcelona €10 million for the Spaniard, with SPORT claiming that the breakup would be €7 million upfront, plus €3 million in performance-related variables.

Additionally, Barcelona would save half of Garcia’s €6 million annual salary, i.e., €3 million.

Rashford earns a gross annual salary of €18 million at Manchester United, and Barcelona would need to cover approximately €9 million for the second half of the season of the season.

This amount could be reduced if the Catalans negotiate with Manchester United to share the wage burden.

The €10 million generated from Garcia’s potential exit (€7 million fixed fee, plus €3 million in saved wages) could all be used to sign Rashford now that Barça are back to the 1:1 rule.