MARCUS RASHFORD has revealed the reason behind his incredible resurgence since leaving Manchester United.
The 28-year-old joined Barcelona on a season-long loan at the start of the campaign and has since established himself as a first team regular.
In 24 appearances this season, Rashford has registered 18 goal contributions.
And he puts his impressive form down to a huge boost in confidence and motivation, with a permanent move to the Nou Camp his main goal.
Asked about the prospect of staying in Spain beyond next summer, the forward told Spanish outlet Sport: “Of course this is what I want, but it’s not the reason why I’m pushing and working hard.
“The reason why is because I want to win. Barcelona is a fantastic club.
“A club that is known for winning, and it’s this type of pressure – I want to say pressure but it’s not a bad type of pressure.
“It’s a pressure that you look forward to and a pressure that I want to have whilst I’m playing football.
“If I’m at a club that doesn’t demand these things then it’s more difficult for me to be motivated.
“It’s a fantastic environment for me to continue my football journey.”
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Asked about settling into life in Catalonia, Rashford continued: “From the minute that I arrived I felt welcome. For me, the reason why I’m here is to help the team. I’m here to help them win trophies.
“Last year they had a fantastic season but – like in life and in football – things move on quickly so we have to repeat the season that we had last season.
“I’m fully focused on this and the staff, the players know that I’m focused on this so it’s really good.”
Rashford was praised by manager Hansi Flick earlier this month, who commented on his professionalism.
The Barcelona boss revealed: “When he’s on the bench, it shows we have a good team.
“What I can say is that he’s an absolutely professional player, his attitude, his mentality is fantastic.
“At the beginning, he had to adapt a little bit, but now he’s at his best level. I speak with the players when they’re not playing, [to explain] why.
“And he said to me mister, he said boss, in England they say boss, ‘You don’t have to tell me this. It’s only about the team, we have to win three points, nothing else is important.’
“It’s the right attitude, the mentality of him, and I’m really happy he’s here.“
Barcelona have the option to make the forward’s loan move permanent next summer.
However, it is currently unclear if they will exercise that.
Rashford fell out of favour with Man Utd head coach Ruben Amorim prior to his exit, significantly limiting his game time.
As a result, he spent the second half of last season with Aston Villa, where he managed 10 goal contributions in 17 appearances.
