After an outstanding recent run of form for England and Barcelona, Marcus Rashford was brought crashing back down to earth by Hansi Flick at the weekend. The Barcelona coach imposes strict standards for the players in his squad to adhere to at all times and there are absolutely no exceptions to those rules.
Two minutes late
A report from has revealed that it was just two minutes that cost Rashford his place in Barcelona's starting XI for Sunday's La Liga win over Getafe. The on-loan forward had scored three times and assisted once in his previous three appearances for club and country, yet had to make do with a place among the substitutes for the visit of Getafe. Lateness was already known to be the cause of his benching, but it now turns out it was a matter of a mere 120 seconds. Flick demanded that Barcelona players reported for a meeting on the morning of the game at 9:30am, and it was 9:32am when Rashford 'checked in', meaning there had to be consequences.
AdvertisementGetty Images SportA harsh reminder for Rashford
Rashford was effectively hounded out of Manchester United by Ruben Amorim over perceived poor application in training, leading to public scrutiny over the player's attitude. Back in December 2022, at the height of a purple patch, he had been dropped for lateness by Erik ten Hag. This episode will serve as a harsh and timely reminder that his professionalism needs to be flawles in order to make the most of this opportunity with Barcelona. Flick is famously a stickler for standards and hasn't hesitated to punish the likes of Jules Kounde and Raphinha for similar infractions over the past 12 months, regardless of their importance to the team.
No room for egos under Flick
Flick warned at the start of September that "egos kill success" and there is no place for complacency or individual endeavours in his squad. "I don't want egos. Last year we were a team, and we must continue to be that way," he said at the time. Lamine Yamal, whose attitude and off-field behaviour has been questioned by fans this season, curiously played down the message.
Getty Images SportRashford's way back into Barcelona's XI
Rashford is fully in control of what happens as a result of this saga, which Flick will hope lights a fire under the attacker and motivates him to avoid falling foul of the rules again. He can prove himself to the coach in training over the next few days and ensure that he isn't late – even if it was by just a matter of minutes – a second time. Barcelona are up against Real Oviedo on Thursday and then Real Sociedad on Sunday, so there will be opportunities to quickly redeem himself.