Some transfer stories arrive fully loaded with narrative.
And this one might be the most compelling of the entire summer.
Jose Mourinho is already headed to Real Madrid.
And his first target is a player who sealed Barcelona’s La Liga title.
Against Real Madrid.
Mourinho targets Marcus Rashford as first Real Madrid signing in move designed to hurt Barcelona
According to Sport.es, Mourinho is keen to sign Marcus Rashford as part of his incoming rebuild at the Bernabeu, with the Portuguese manager believing the Manchester United loanee fits exactly the profile he wants to build around at Real Madrid.
And sources close to the situation have confirmed there are two reasons Mourinho would love this deal.
The first is footballing.
He managed Rashford at Manchester United, knowing what exactly he can do.
Mourinho believes that he would thrive in the system he’s planning to implement.
The second is psychological.
Taking the player that Barcelona are hoping to keep, the one who just scored the goal that humiliated Real Madrid in El Clasico, would be vintage Jose Mourinho.
He did it to Guardiola for three years in Spain.
And he’s already thinking about how to do it to Barcelona from day one.
Barcelona hold a €30 million purchase option, and they still haven’t confirmed whether they’ll activate it.
Manchester United, meanwhile, want a clean resolution.
Rashford remains on significant wages, under contract until 2028, and INEOS want clarity rather than another season of uncertainty.
If Barcelona don’t trigger the option, United will want a permanent sale.
And Real Madrid coming in with a serious offer would represent exactly that.
The narrative writes itself.
Whether Rashford could be convinced to make that move after a season in which he fell in love with Barcelona is the central question.
But Mourinho has never been shy about pursuing what he wants.
And this is very much what he wants.
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