Rashford Risks Angering Barcelona Fans with GOAT Pick Days before El Clasico
Marcus Rashford may have frustrated Barcelona fans with his pick for the greatest player of all time, just days before El Clasico.
The English forward has made a strong start to life in Spain, scoring five goals and registering six assists across 13 appearances.
Sunday's match at the Santiago Bernabeu will be Rashford's first El Clasico, but he comes into the game high on confidence following a brace in midweek against Olympiacos.
After the victory, he told UEFA it was his "best performance" in a Barcelona shirt.
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Despite Rashford's impressive start, Barcelona trail Real Madrid by two points heading into the weekend.
With Raphinha ruled out through injury, Rashford looks set to start.
Ahead of the game, he spoke to ESPN and gave his thoughts on some of football's most-asked questions.
He described his former Manchester United teammate Cristiano Ronaldo as the greatest finisher, while he chose Lionel Messi as the best playmaker.
Messi was also Rashford's choice for the best La Liga player of all time.
However, he refused to name Messi as the outright GOAT, saying: "I think it's Messi and Ronaldo, it's difficult."
Given Ronaldo's ties to Real Madrid, Rashford has risked incurring the wrath of the Culers with his comments but he also has a connection to the Portuguese star.
Rashford and Ronaldo were teammates at Manchester United from August 2021 until November 2022.
It was a disastrous season for the club, with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer sacked in November and replaced until the end of the season by Ralf Rangnick.
Although Rashford struggled for form that season, ending the campaign with just five goals, Ronaldo excelled and was named United's player of the year with 24 goals.
However, Ronaldo fell out of favour under Erik ten Hag the following season.
After a controversial interview in which he criticised the club and said he had "no respect" for Ten Hag, he left and joined Al Nassr in Saudi Arabia.
Meanwhile, Rashford enjoyed his best season under Ten Hag in the 2022/23 season, scoring 30 goals in all competitions.
But the Englishman then fell out with the Dutchman's successor Ruben Amorim, and spent the second half of last season on loan at Aston Villa, before securing his 'dream move' to Barcelona.
Although he only signed a one-year loan deal with the Catalan giants, the club have the option to buy him permanently next summer for £28 million.
When asked by ESPN whether he would like to remain in Spain, Rashford replied: "For sure.
"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 is an honour."
Topics: Marcus Rashford, El Clasico, Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, Football, La Liga, FC Barcelona
James Taylor