MARCUS RASHFORD has been given a sweet new nickname by his Barcelona team-mates – but admits he has no idea what it means.
The 27-year-old star opened about the motivation behind his season-long loan move away from Manchester United in a tell-all front page interview with Spanish newspaper Sport.
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Rashford left his boyhood club last month after being frozen out to Ruben Amorim‘s five-man ‘Bomb squad’ alongside Alejandro Garnacho, Jadon Sancho, Antony and Tyrell Malacia.
After finally being registered to play in LaLiga, and making his league debut from the bench in a 3-0 win over Mallorca last Saturday, Rashford now faces the difficult task that all non-Spanish speaking players encounter at Barcelona or Real Madrid – learning the language.
A willingness to pick up Spanish is often essential for getting the fans on side, which could help the club decide to activate their £26million option to buy before next summer’s World Cup in the USA.
And Rashford, who has already scored a pre-season goal, has picked up a bizarre – but comical – new nickname after trying to get to grips with Español.
The England winger told Sport: “When they’re having fun among themselves, they call me ‘sweetie’ [‘chuche’].
“I don’t know what it means, but it’s funny to be spoken to like that.
“But I’m trying to learn Spanish. I think it’s important for me to learn as soon as possible. So it’s stimulating. You’re always learning and that’s good.
“Catalan is difficult. I suppose that while I’m here, I’ll learn a little and hope it will help me understand more about Catalan culture.”
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Rashford later admitted that he escaped Old Trafford to be “happy” after being shunned from the squad in December by Amorim after a clash of personalities.
On why he left United, who he joined at the age of seven, Rashford said: “I need to be happy to play my best football.
“For me personally, football is my life. It’s been my life since I was very, very young.
“Actually, I don’t know anything else. So the bond I have, not only with my career but with sport in general, is huge and I don’t expect it to go away.
“But it’s always good to be happy when you play football. It’s the reason I started this.”
Rashford has endured a testing couple of years under former gaffer Erik ten Hag and more recently Amorim, who informed the forward he was no longer part of his plans at the start of the summer transfer window.
A month after arriving from Sporting, Amorim dropped Rashford for United’s 2-1 win at rivals Manchester City on December 15, citing the academy graduate’s inability to adapt to his training methods.
After a fruitful six-month loan stint at Aston Villa, Rashford openly confessed he is now “comfortable” at reigning LaLiga champions Barca as he looks to get back to his very best in front of goal.
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The South Manchester-born star has clearly bonded with his new team-mates, particularly with Lamine Yamal, the youngest Ballon d’Or front-runner, who recently turned 18.
Rashford said: “Lamine is the most talented player I’ve played with at this age. I’ve seen few with the impact he has.
“Maybe Ronaldo, ‘the phenomenon’. He can already be a Ballon d’Or winner.”
Rashford took a salary cut to join Barca, who have agreed to cover his wages for the next year, but if Hansi Flick‘s club send him back to United in a year’s time, he could be forced to see out the remainder of his contract which expires in 2028.
