'I like Rashford's honesty and motivation' says Barca president after Man Utd move

Barcelona President Joan Laporta says he likes Marcus Rashford's honesty and believes he is very motivated to succeed at the club.

Rashford is on loan at Spotify Camp Nou, taking the No. 14 shirt, and has already begun training under manager Hansi Flick.

He could make his debut against Vissel Kobe in Japan, marking the start of a new chapter after a challenging period at United.

"We're very happy because a player of great quality is coming to Barça at a great age, with extraordinary motivation. I've personally seen the excitement he has about coming to Barça," says Laporta.

"One of his virtues is his sincerity. His dream was to play for United his whole life. He arrived at seven and was born there with an interesting life. He wanted to be a 'One Club Man'.

"It's nice when a player says this with all sincerity. But when a situation in his life that he didn't expect occurs, the team he's always liked is Barça. He had played against us and Barça was on his radar.

"He went on loan to Aston Villa to show that he's the best player ever, the best in England, and he says his greatest motivation is to win the Champions League with Barça and the World Cup with England.

"We have him very motivated. He's come in strong, he's very excited, he's played well with his teammates, and I'm very happy because two years ago he beat us in the Europa League. He made the difference in the tie, and that's why I'm so happy he came."

"It was a more complicated area than the goalkeeping position due to the opinions coming from all sides," Laporta told Mundo Deportivo.

"There were several options, and I'm very happy because we ended up getting the option I liked the most. It's true that I also liked Luis Díaz, a very complete player, but due to his circumstances, with Liverpool very entrenched, it was complicated, although I appreciate the player who always wanted to come.

"The Nico Williams situation also happened. And given that Luis's situation was complicated and that we were in the process of negotiating with Rashford, Nico's agent came to me offering the possibility of signing him.

"Deco told me about it. In principle, I preferred to work on the other two options, but in these cases I always listen to the sporting director. He said we should at least listen because he's an interesting player because he holds his own on the wing.

"Negotiations took place, but from what they told us to what it ended up being, there was a big difference in the payment terms, the agent's commission, and a series of variables that already suggested the deal wouldn't happen.

"Deco set a 48-hour deadline, and if they didn't accept our terms, we wouldn't do the deal. In the end, it didn't happen. In parallel, work continued on the other two, and Rashford's became clearer."