Manchester United forward Marcus Rashford would be 'lying' if he said he isn't interested in joining Paris Saint-Germain and Real Madrid.
That's an opinion held by Glen Johnson, who believes Rashford could be swayed to leave Old Trafford in favour of a move to PSG or Los Blancos. Erik ten Hag confirmed on Sunday that United have activated the one-year extension to Rashford's contract as the club tries to persuade the England international to sign a new long-term deal.
The 25-year-old's contract was due to expire next summer, but the Red Devils have decided to extend it by a further year due to Rashford's impressive start to the campaign. He has scored eight goals in 19 appearances for the Red Devils so far this term.
After his excellent start to the season, Rashford has since been linked with a move away, with PSG chief Nasser Al-Khelaifi suggesting they will try and sign the United forward. Real Madrid have also been tipped to bring in the player - with Johnson claiming he would be an astute signing for Los Blancos when Karim Benzema eventually leaves.
"Well it's a massive void, let's put it that way," said former Chelsea and Liverpool defender Johnson when asked how best Real Madrid could replace Karim Benzema.
"I'm a massive fan of Rashford and when he presses and he's at his best, then he's unstoppable. I have no doubt that Real Madrid would want to sign him if he's going to go for less than he should, if his deal's not too far away from expiring.
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"Will he be good enough to fill the shoes of Benzema? We won't know that until he's playing in the Champions League week in, week out for them. He certainly has the potential to."
Rashford made his United debut in February 2016 and has been a first-team regular at the club ever since, despite struggling for form last season after he missed a penalty in the final Euro 2020 final. But Johnson still thinks Rashford could be tempted to leave his boyhood club.
Johnson added: "Real Madrid 100%. It’s a galactico club, you live in Madrid and wherever he goes he will be paid well enough. He doesn’t need to think about that. Real Madrid will be competing for LaLiga, they’ll go deep in the Champions League and you can live in the sun, so for me it’s a no brainer."
"When teams like PSG and Real Madrid want you, then 100% you’d be interested in them. Obviously he’s from Manchester and is already at a big football club, but if any footballer told you that they weren’t interested in even having a chat with a club like Real Madrid, they’ll be lying."
Before it was revealed United are set to activate Rashford's one-year option in his contract, Al-Khelaifi confirmed PSG will attempt to sign the forward as he also impressed at the Qatar World Cup. Rashford scored three times and grabbed an assist as England crashed out of the tournament against France in the quarter-final.
“He’s another player that is really amazing - and for free?" said Al-Khelaifi. "To have Rashford for free, every club would definitely run after him. We’re not hiding it, we spoke before and there was interest."
