Marcus Rashford will need to follow strict Barcelona rule following loan from Man Utd or risk 'significant' punishment

Marcus Rashford must follow a strict rule at Barcelona or face the full wrath of manager Hansi Flick, who has previously laid down the law to those who break his policy.

After weeks of speculation surrounding his future, Rashford is on the verge of completing a dream move to Barcelona this summer after an agreement in principle was reached between the two clubs on Saturday.

The 27-year-old forward will join the La Liga champions on a season-long loan, with Barca having an option to buy Rashford at the end of the 2025/26 campaign for an undisclosed fee, according to a report from The Times.

It has also emerged that the Catalan giants will pay all of Rashford’s £325,000-a-week wages during the loan spell.

Hansi Flick is certainly an admirer of the Manchester United forward, previously describing him as a "fantastic" player, although Rashford will need to live up to his high expectations when it comes to time management.

Flick is firm when it comes to discipline. He replaced traditional fines for lateness with decreased game time – a change that has heightened accountability among the players, according to GOAL.

Barcelona midfielder Pedri has previously revealed how much stricter Flick is than previous manager Xavi, saying that “if you arrive late you don’t play”.

Flick, meanwhile, has explained his views by saying: “Being late is a lack of respect, not for me but for his teammates, the institution, and the fans.”

Earlier this year, Spanish outlet Mundo Deportivo claimed Flick's high expectations have led to multiple altercations, with defender Jules Kounde receiving his full wrath before a clash against Rayo Vallecano.

Kounde had arrived late for a crucial pre-match team talk at the Torre Melina Gran Melia hotel, which prompted Flick to wait at the entrance while the rest of the squad were sat inside.

Hansi Flick has dropped players for being late. Image credit: Getty

Flick reportedly slammed the door and shouted at the Frenchman on arrival, and consequently dropped him from the starting 11 to stamp his authority on the squad. The report also states the defender was likely fined for his lack of punctuality.

Toni Kroos recently gave his take on Flick's strict disciplinary approach.

“With Hansi, some players have been left out of the team for being late to a meeting. This has happened several times at Barca,” Kroos said, as per Sport.

“They’re different philosophies. At Real Madrid, they would have laughed. Often, you didn’t know who was going to be later, the player or the coach. It’s a different mentality, not letting someone play because they’re five minutes late to a meeting.”

Flick has turned Barcelona around since becoming manager. Image credit: Getty

Rashford was dropped from Manchester United's starting XI because of team meeting incident

Towards the end of 2022, Rashford revealed he was left out of Erik ten Hag's starting line-up for their clash against Wolves after oversleeping and arriving late to a team meeting.

Speaking to BT Sport after full-time, he said: "I was a little bit late for a meeting - I overslept.

"It's the team rules and it's a mistake that can happen, but I'm disappointed not to play, but I understand the decision and I'm happy that we managed to win the game anyway.

"I think we can draw a line under it and move on," he added. "I'm in a good place and I'm just pleased with the way that we're progressing. In the past, we could easily have lost that game or drawn it."