Simon Jordan rips Man Utd and Marcus Rashford to shreds over Barcelona transfer

Simon Jordan has slammed both Manchester United and Marcus Rashford after the England striker sealed his move to Barcelona.

Rashford, 27, has joined the Blaugrana on a season-long loan deal - with Barca holding an option to turn it permanent for £26million. He was unveiled on Wednesday at Camp Nou, where Rashford declared: “I feel at home here – it's where dreams come true.”

Certainly, his time at United under Ruben Amorim was far from a dream, with Rashford jettisoned from the first-team squad, dumped on loan to Aston Villa in the second half of last season and then made a part of the club's 'Bomb Squad' this summer, when the Portuguese made clear he wanted him nowhere near his first-team squad in the upcoming season.

Now, former Crystal Palace owner Jordan has pointed the finger at both the club and Rashford for how his time at United has disintegrated to such an extent that getting him out of the club on loan without recouping any kind of up front transfer fee - they will save £12m in terms of salary - is seen in some quarters as a win.

"We should lament the loss of a significant talent," said Jordan, when asked about Rashford's switch. "I don't think he was ever at the level he was built up to be but we should lament the loss of the culture of Man United for a player to lose his way.

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"Do you remember after the European Championships he hadn't been fit a lot of the season, was in the European Championships squad... came into that. After the European Championships, the club allowed him to go on holiday for two weeks and then have a shoulder surgery. Hang on... Get your priorities right!

"I think you have to lay the responsibility on the opportunities that have not been taken by the player at his own door, but if you don't create the culture for these young men to respect and value the opportunities that they've got, they can then get distracted by outside influences."

While Jordan made clear his displeasure with how the Old Trafford hierarchy has handled Rashford in recent years, he also insists the player must bear responsibility for how his career at United has unravelled also.

Jordan continued: "Of course [it is Rashford's responsibility], but we know there are very few leaders in football. There are more often people who are followers.

"You lose them [followers], there's distractions and outside influences. They get more distracted in their social life. They make their decision for their birthdays. They make the decision to not turn up for training and go out on the whiz in Northern Ireland - and things of that nature.

"These are things that are clearly being tolerated by a culture. Alongside that you've then got the distractions, the affluence and the wealth footballers have.

"You've got a culture of not being able to tell people the truth because if you do, they can't cope with it - it's only good news they can hear so they don't build resilience and leadership."

Damningly, Jordan finished: "I think he'll be successful at Barcelona because the clear thing for Marcus Rashford is to get away from Manchester United. That's for Man United's sake and Marcus Rashford's sake - and we should lament that because he's a good player."

Speaking at the Nou Camp after his unveiling, Rashford said: “I'm very excited. It's a club where people's dreams come true. They win big prizes and what the clubs stands for really means a lot to me.

“It feels like I'm at home and this is a big factor in my choice to come here, because it's a family club, people are comfortable here and it's a good place for players to showcase their skills. I want to say thank you for the warm welcome. It's a different environment for me but it feels like home.

“I'm full of excitement and hunger to go out and help this club win. They won so much last year and I can see the ambition is to do better than last year and that is what you want to hear as a player. It keeps you improving year on year and that's what you need to be - the best version of yourself. So I'm very excited to be here, eager to get the games going and I'm enjoying every minute of it.

“I always try to make decisive actions - fast, dynamic plays and I always like good football, so I have always been a fan of watching Barcelona play from a young age, like most football fans. It's going to be a joy for me to play here and I'm going to enjoy every minute of it.”

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