Barcelona locker room was not happy with club’s pursuit of Manchester United outcast | OneFootball

The winter transfer window was rather uneventful for Barcelona who did not see any new arrivals or departures despite trying on both fronts.

Barcelona managed to renew the contracts of some crucial players including Pedri, Gavi, and Ronald Araujo. The only other operation of note for them was the transfer of Nico Gonzalez from Porto to Manchester City of which they received a share.

One of the biggest transfers they were interested in which did not come to fruition was to sign Marcus Rashford who was looking to leave Manchester United.

The dressing room was unhappy

As relayed in a recent update by SPORT, the Barcelona dressing room was not particularly happy with the club’s decision to pursue Rashford’s signing.

While the players themselves did not hold anything against the English forward, the entourage of stars including Pedri, Gavi, and Araujo did not like the club using its new financial freedom to sign a new star.

Barcelona wanted to sign Rashford in the winter. (Photo by Carl Recine/Getty Images)

They felt the priority of Barcelona should be to reaffirm faith and improve the terms of existing players who have been loyal to the badge as opposed to splashing out the cash to accommodate the wages of a new player.

Rashford was willing to wait for Barcelona but talks stagnated after Manchester United made it clear they would not carry the burden of his wages.

It may well have gone through had either Ansu Fati or Andreas Christensen left the club, but the club could not afford his wages with both players remaining in Catalonia.

Eventually, Deco and co. prioritized the aforementioned renewals and tied down the players to the club for at least the next five years.

As for Rashford, having waited patiently for Barcelona until late in the window, he eventually signed for Aston Villa on loan.