Marcus Rashford's Home Debut at Barcelona Amidst Club Turmoil
New Barcelona signing Marcus Rashford is set to make his home debut on Sunday against Como in a final friendly match before the start of La Liga.
However, this is not the homecoming Rashford had envisioned.
The match will take place at Barcelona's training ground, and his availability for next weekend's league opener remains uncertain.
BBC Sport takes a closer look at the chaotic two weeks that have unfolded for the Spanish champions.
Ter Stegen Dispute Eases
Life at FC Barcelona, affectionately known as 'Can Barca' in Spain, is rarely uneventful.
Even the calmest off-season Sundays can quickly escalate into dramatic controversies, with rumors and sudden changes becoming commonplace.
This summer has been no exception, as Rashford's initial weeks with the club have been overshadowed by various sagas.
The most significant of these involved club captain Marc-Andre ter Stegen, which at one point seemed likely to delay Rashford's league debut.
Ter Stegen is a club legend, boasting over 400 appearances and 17 trophies. However, he has faced several injuries recently, playing only nine games last season, and the summer signing of Joan Garcia from Espanyol indicates the club may be looking to move on from their captain.
Efforts to sell him were thwarted when he required surgery for a back issue, complicating matters further.
Currently, Barcelona is prohibited by La Liga from registering new signings, including Rashford and Garcia, due to financial constraints that do not meet La Liga's strict regulations.
Had Ter Stegen been sold, it would have created enough salary space to register the new arrivals, but his surgery made a summer transfer impossible. Consequently, Barcelona devised an alternative plan: to de-register their captain until January.
However, Ter Stegen declined to sign the necessary paperwork, arguing that his injury should sideline him only until November.
This led to a furious reaction from Barcelona, which initiated disciplinary proceedings against the goalkeeper and stripped him of the captaincy.
Eventually, Ter Stegen agreed to restore the captaincy and will spend the upcoming months as an unregistered player undergoing rehabilitation, before likely being sold in January unless he performs poorly or is injured.
This situation should allow Rashford and other new signings to be registered, although nothing is guaranteed until all paperwork is finalized, which means he could be available for next Saturday's league opener against Mallorca.
That match will take place away from home, which introduces another layer of drama this summer.
Iconic Home Still Under Reconstruction
In an unusual display of collaboration between Barcelona and La Liga, the club's first three league matches have been scheduled away from home, allowing time to complete renovations at the Nou Camp.
Theoretically.
For the past two seasons, Barcelona has been playing at the city's Olympic Stadium while their iconic home undergoes extensive redevelopment, which includes adding approximately 10,000 seats, a roof, and improved corporate facilities, costing over £1 billion.
The project has faced significant delays, with the original reopening date of December 2024 now long past.
This weekend's friendly against Como was initially slated for the grand opening of the Nou Camp, but that plan was also deemed unfeasible, leading to the match being moved to the 6,000-capacity Johan Cruyff Stadium within the training complex, typically reserved for reserve and women's teams.
The next key date is the weekend of September 13-14, when Barcelona is scheduled to host Valencia for their delayed home opener in the fourth round of La Liga.
Recent updates from the construction site, which still resembles a work zone, reveal that the lower seating tiers have been installed and the pitch has been laid, but much remains to be done.
This week, local authorities agreed to issue safety certificates allowing around 27,000 fans to attend the Valencia match, contingent on the timely completion of necessary construction. As a result, it is now a race against time, with no tickets currently on sale and the venue still unconfirmed.
As for when the newly renovated stadium will be fully completed, enabling Rashford and his teammates to play in front of over 100,000 fans, that question remains unanswered.
For now, it seems far off, possibly even beyond Rashford's tenure at the club.
Lewandowski Injury Opens Doors for Rashford?
Amidst all the surrounding noise, it is easy to forget that Barcelona's primary objective is to play football, and on the field, Rashford has made a promising start.
His debut occurred during the club's summer tour in Asia, where he showcased his skills in a 3-1 victory over Japanese champions Vissel Kobe—a match that, in typical Barcelona fashion, was canceled and then reinstated just days before kickoff due to a dispute with the promoter.
Rashford continued to stand out throughout pre-season, netting his first goal for Barcelona in a 5-0 victory over South Korean side Daegu last Monday.
His performances during the tour garnered high praise, with local media noting that he has impressed his new teammates with both his technical skills and physical fitness.
His opportunity to play a significant role has been bolstered by an injury to striker Robert Lewandowski, leaving Rashford and Ferran Torres to vie for the center-forward position.
Rashford effectively filled that role during the win over Daegu and is expected to receive more playing time as the striker against Como, providing him with an excellent opportunity to showcase his abilities and convince coach Hansi Flick that he deserves a starting position against Mallorca next weekend.
Lewandowski's status for the competitive opener remains uncertain, but Flick has already witnessed Rashford's potential contributions, whether as a center forward or on the left wing, ensuring he will receive opportunities.
Considering the intense scrutiny he faced during his final years in England, he may find some relief in the fact that the ongoing Barcelona drama has, for now, allowed him to operate under the radar.