What Marcus Rashford transfer could mean for Man United and FFP plans

The future of Marcus Rashford at Manchester United has been a topic of rumour and speculation for some time.

Having signed a new five-year contract in July of last year, a deal worth some £325,000 per week, the 26-year-old was so out of form for United last season to the extent that he was overlooked by Gareth Southgate for England’s Euro 2024 squad.

The MEN understands the preference is for Rashford to remain in the hope that he finds his spark once more and delivers the kind of performances that saw him plunder 30 goals during the 2022/23 season.

But there is also a growing acceptance that alternative solutions should be considered, including potentially selling him.

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The arrival of Sir Jim Ratcliffe as minority owner at the start of the year, with oversight over matters pertaining to football strategy at Old Trafford, has seen something of a step change for United, with the club’s approach set to be more considered in the transfer market and less frivolous, with a stronger focus on buying the right profile of player at the right price, and ensuring that they improve their player trading performance, which has fallen well short of their ‘big six’ rivals in recent years.

When a player is signed the guaranteed transfer sum is, for accounting purposes, divided equally by the number of years on the contract via a process called amortisation, with the period capped at five years.

When players are sold, regardless of the instalment plan involved, the guaranteed fee received for the player can be accounted for in its entirety straightaway