Marcus Rashford is set to choose between two squad numbers when he joins Barcelona on loan from Manchester United.
It’s understood an agreement in principle is in place for the deal, with Barcelona set to cover Rashford’s £315,000-a-week wages and include an option to buy for around £40million next summer.
Mail Sport revealed in January that the 27-year-old had his heart set on a move to the Nou Camp before United struck a deal with Aston Villa to take him on loan.
However, Rashford’s brother and representative Dwaine Maynard flew to Spain to hold talks with Barca sporting director Deco in May, and the deal moved closer after Nico Williams decided to stay at Athletic Bilbao rather than join the Catalan giants.
Rashford will fly to Barcelona to undergo a medical before signing the relevant paperwork and being officially unveiled.
The England international will have three squad number options available — 14, 19, and 22 – but is expected to choose between 14 and 19, with first-team players only permitted to select numbers between 1 and 25, according to Mundo Deportivo.
Marcus Rashford is set to choose between two squad numbers when he joins Barcelona
Rashford wore the number 19 shirt during his early years in the Manchester United team
The forward will pick between 19 and 14, previously worn by Lionel Messi and Thierry Henry
The iconic 14 was famously worn at the club by icons like Johan Cruyff and Thierry Henry.
Number 19 also holds meaning for Rashford, as he wore it during his early years at Manchester United between 2016 and 2018.
The shirt was recently vacated by Lamine Yamal, who switched to number 10 following Ansu Fati’s move to AS Monaco.
Barcelona legend Lionel Messi also wore the 19 shirt from 2006 to 2008.
Rashford spent the latter half of last season on loan at Aston Villa, where he scored four goals, but they chose not to sign him permanently.
He is one of five United players being forced to train away from the rest of the first-team squad at Carrington in pre-season, and has lost his No 10 shirt to new £62.5million signing Matheus Cunha.
Barcelona boss Hansi Flick made signing a left-sided attacker one of his priorities this summer.
Asked in an interview last month if he hoped to play alongside teenage star Lamine Yamal, Rashford said: ‘Yeah, for sure. Everybody in the world wants to play with the best. Hopefully. We’ll see.’
Rashford has scored 138 goals in 426 appearances for his boyhood club since making his debut in 2015, but has not played for United since the Europa League tie against Viktoria Plzen in mid-December.
