Life is never dull at FC Barcelona – or ‘Can Barca’ as the club and its surrounding environment is known in Spain.
Even the sleepiest off-season Sunday can suddenly erupt into the latest melodramatic controversy, with rumours, counter-rumours and abrupt U-turns a matter of course.
This summer has been no different, with Rashford’s first fortnight at the club overshadowed by a series of sagas.
The biggest of those, centred on club captain Marc-Andre ter Stegen, looked for a while as though it would even delay Rashford’s league debut.
Ter Stegen is a Barca legend with more than 400 appearances and 17 trophies under his belt. But he has recently sustained several injuries, playing only nine games last season, and the summer signing of Joan Garcia from Espanyol strongly suggests the club is ready to shove their captain aside.
Attempts to sell him, however, were thwarted when the keeper underwent surgery on a back problem – and that also had wider ramifications.
Barca are currently barred by La Liga from registering their new signings, including Rashford and Garcia, because their troubled finances do not meet La Liga’s strict guidelines.
Selling Ter Stegen would have freed up enough salary space to do so, but his surgery made a summer sale impossible. So Barca devised another plan: de-register their captain until January.
Ter Stegen, however, refused to sign the necessary paperwork, reasoning that his injury should only sideline him until November.
Barca reacted furiously, opening disciplinary proceedings against the keeper and stripping him of the captaincy.
Ter Stegen then relented, had the captaincy restored and will spend the next few months as an unregistered player in rehab before – barring poor form or injury to his replacement Garcia – most likely being sold in January.
That should open the door for Rashford and other new signings to be registered (but take nothing for granted until the paperwork is complete), meaning he’ll be available for next Saturday’s league opener against Mallorca.
That game will be played away from home… and therein lies another summer drama.
