Marcus Rashford casts doubt on Manchester United return as Barcelona hero makes 'magician' claim after clinching La Liga title versus Real Madrid

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Marcus Rashford said if he was a magician, he would make his Barcelona loan permanent after helping the Catalan side to the La Liga title.

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Rashford, on loan from Manchester United, cast the finest trick of the night on Sunday as he bent in a delightful free-kick on nine minutes to open the scoring against Real Madrid.

Ferran Torres doubled Barca's lead just nine minutes later and Hansi Flick's side shut out Madrid to ensure they lifted the title in front of their Clasico rivals at Camp Nou.

Rashford was seen sharing a warm embrace with Barca president Joan Laporta during the on-pitch ceremony but told reporters after the match that he knows little about his future beyond Barca's final three games of the season.

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"I don't know," he replied when asked if he will still be a Barca player next season. "I am not a magician but if I was, I would stay. We will see.

"I came here to win. I want to win as many things as I can. This is one more to add to this.

"This is a wonderful team, they're going to win so much in the future; to be a part of that would be special."

Marcus Rashford embracing Barcelona president Joan Laporta

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Rashford departed United on loan last summer following a high-profile falling-out with then-head coach Ruben Amorim.

He would return to Old Trafford with the club in a completely different climate, having just secured their return to UEFA Champions League football under Michael Carrick.

But uncertainty also surrounds United this summer, with Carrick's future beyond this season yet to be decided.

Rashford said in the immediate aftermath of helping Barca to the title, he is not thinking all too much about the summer.

"This is the perfect way I want it to end," he said. "I'm very happy, I just want to enjoy today. I live in the moment. At the end of the season we will see. I came here to win and we do this, so I'm very happy. It's an incredible feeling."

Rashford added: "The feeling is amazing. It's been a long season with ups and downs, but I think we deserved to win [La Liga]."

The England international has contributed 14 goals and 14 assists in 47 appearances for Barca this season, and Sunday's strike may well be one of his finest, curling the dead-ball over Thibaut Courtois into the far corner from just outside the box.

He said he was initially unsure whether to pull the trigger. "I wasn't going to shoot," Rashford said. "When I put the ball down, I didn't see the angle, I didn't feel confident it would be a goal.

"I was going to cross. But everyone told me to shoot, so I hyped myself up a bit. It was good I shot in the end; it was a good goal."

Barca now sit on 91 points - 14 ahead of Madrid - with three matches of the league campaign remaining.

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Head coach Flick, who now has two La Liga titles in his first two years at the club, revealed Barcelona's "next goal."

"We want to reach 100 points," Flick said. "It's still possible. This is the next goal."

'Real Madrid always comes back'

Sunday's defeat ensured Madrid will go a second successive season without a major trophy, compounding a difficult campaign which has recently seen tensions boil over among the squad.

Federico Valverde was absent at Camp Nou following a training-ground bust-up with Aurelien Tchouameni, which resulted in both players being given €500,000 (£430,000) fines.

Alvaro Arbeloa, who replaced Xabi Alonso in the dug-out in January, is seemingly unlikely to stay in his post beyond this season, with Jose Mourinho hotly-tipped to replace him.

But Arbeloa insisted Madrid will bounce back from a disappointing 2025/26 campaign.

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”We can’t say much because we understand the frustration, disappointment and dissatisfaction they must feel about this season," he said.

"The only thing we can do is work, look to the future, and learn from everything we’ve done wrong this year.

"We know that Real Madrid always comes back. We are a team that has fallen many times and risen many times but right now I understand the anger any Madridista fan might feel, just as we feel it ourselves.

"That is something very clear, and we have to work to turn around the situation we are in right now."

On his own future, Arbeloa said: ”We will surely have a conversation with the club, as is normal.

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"Right now, what I want is for the team to finish well and not let up in these three games.

"I think there will be opportunities for players who are training well to get minutes and finish the season on the pitch.

"That will be my goal and where I’ll focus over these two weeks. Whatever the future holds, we’ll see from May 24 or 25 onward."

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