The Manchester United outcast has somehow landed a dream move after two years of mediocrity, but he's not the first player to fall on his feet
"If you assess where Marcus Rashford is at as a professional footballer, you strive as a youngster to get to the very top and play for clubs like Manchester United, and when you’re there, you appreciate it. You don’t throw it away and say you want to leave. I find the whole episode very soul-destroying," United legend Teddy Sheringham told when asked for his opinion on Rashford's imminent loan move to Barcelona.
"From my perspective, if you go from Manchester United to Barcelona, that’s a step up that he hasn’t deserved," he added, and it's impossible to disagree with that take when looking back at Rashford's last two seasons on the Red Devils' books. He managed just 11 Premier League goals in 48 appearances, broke disciplinary rules, and eventually lost his place in the team after Ruben Amorim was appointed manager, which led to Aston Villa signing the inconsistent attacker on loan in January.
Rashford instantly started playing with a smile again at Villa Park, helping Unai Emery's side reach the Champions League quarter-finals and finish sixth in the Premier League, but he still only scored four goals, and it wasn't much of a surprise that the Villans did not take up their £40 million ($54m) buy option on the 27-year-old. After so much early promise, Rashford had become damaged goods; an overpaid, overrated attacker who did have the right mindset to reach the very top.
Barca do not see it that way, though. The Spanish title holders believe Rashford is the final piece in the puzzle to bring them Champions League glory in 2025-26, and he will now form part of an all-star forward line alongside Lamine Yamal, Robert Lewandowski and Raphinha.
It feels like Rashford is the luckiest man in football, but is he about to seal the most "undeserved" transfer in football history? GOAL ranks the top 10 contenders for that unwanted title:
Getty10Marouane Fellaini (Everton to Manchester United, €32m)
David Moyes famously tried to sign Gareth Bale and Cesc Fabregas after being personally selected by Sir Alex Ferguson to inherit the managerial reins at United in 2013, but ended up having to settle for Marouane Fellaini, the 6'4 Belgian midfielder known more for his afro hairstyle than his playing ability. Fellaini had been a reliable performer for Everton under Moyes, but a move to the then-Premier League champions was seen as a bridge too far for such a one-dimensional footballer.
That proved to be the case. Fellaini was jeered regularly by United fans in a miserable debut season that saw them slip out of the top six, with Moyes relieved of his duties after just eight months at the helm. Somehow, Fellaini clung on for another five seasons at Old Trafford, picking up FA Cup, Europa League and League Cup winners' medals while becoming a favourite of Jose Mourinho's due to his aerial ability, but he was never able to hold down a starting role, and United let him depart for Chinese Super League side Shandong Taishan for just £10.5m in January 2019.
AdvertisementAFP9Andy Carroll (Newcastle to Liverpool, €43m)
Liverpool fans reacted in disbelief when Andy Carroll was chosen to replace Fernando Torres after the Spanish striker's controversial switch to Chelsea in January 2011. The Reds broke their transfer record to sign Carroll, which was seen as a hasty move given he had only served as Newcastle's first-choice No.9 for half a season.
All doubts over Carroll were quickly justified as he found the net only six times in 44 Premier League games for Liverpool. The towering English frontman's finishing was wildly erratic and he couldn't stay fit long enough to build any kind of momentum.
After replacing Kenny Dalglish as Liverpool boss in June 2012, Brendan Rodgers immediately decided Carroll wasn't the right fit for his possession-based system, and he departed for West Ham after a hugely disappointing 18 months at Anfield.
Getty Images Sport8Nicklas Bendtner (Arsenal to Juventus, loan)
Nicklas Bendtner's future looked bleak after an underwhelming loan stint at Sunderland in 2011-12, in which he netted just eight goals. Arsenal had certainly grown sick of the Denmark striker's inconsistency and off-pitch behaviour, but that didn't dissuade newly-crowned Serie A champions Juventus from taking him off their hands in the most shocking deal of the 2012 summer window.
It would not turn out to be some miraculous masterstroke. Antonio Conte didn't hand Bendtner his first start for Juve until October, and he suffered a serious injury in his next start some two months later, before being arrested for drink-driving in March.
Bendtner returned to action off the bench in a final-day clash against Sampdoria, but broke his wrist as the Bianconeri's second successive title party was soured by a 3-2 defeat. The Arsenal loanee then went back to Emirates Stadium with no goals to his name from 11 appearances in Juve colours, and it's fair to say that this particular transfer was a waste of time for all parties involved.
AFP7Odion Ighalo (Shanghai Shenhua to Manchester United, loan)
United were so desperate for a new striker after Rashford was sidelined with an injury in the winter transfer window of 2020 that they explored several emergency options, including potentially re-signing former academy graduate Josh King from Bournemouth. However, when they were priced out of a deal for King, United instead brought in former Watford star Odion Ighalo on loan from Shanghai Shenhua until the end of the season.
It should be noted that Ighalo had his moments in the Premier League with Watford, and scored five goals for Nigeria at the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations, but this was the mother of all panic moves from the Red Devils. Ighalo had no elite-level experience to speak of, and it was clear from the start that then-United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer didn't fully trust him.
The Nigerian was restricted to just eight appearances between February and May, but he scored four goals, which inexplicably led United to extend his loan for another six months. That decision was made all the more baffling when Edinson Cavani arrived in October, and Ighalo was given just nine minutes of Premier League action in the first half of the 2020-21 campaign before being sent back to China.
