Manchester United forward Marcus Rashford may have the chance to swap sharing a dressing room with Cristiano Ronaldo for sharing one with Lionel Messi as Paris Saint-Germain weigh up a bid for the Englishman.
The French champions are understood to have made enquiries with Rashford's representatives over a potential transfer this summer. Christophe Galtier, who replaced Mauricio Pochettino as PSG manager in July, has outlined his intention to sign "another forward" in order to cope with his side's "very busy schedule".
Rashford, 24, has scored 93 goals in 304 appearances since emerging from United's academy, so losing him would be a painful blow for the club's fans and manager Erik ten Hag. He has less than a year remaining on his contract at Old Trafford, although there is the option to extend for another season.
It remains to be seen how fervently PSG will pursue the England international given they already boast an attack containing Messi, Neymar, Kylian Mbappe and Hugo Ekitike, who joined from Reims on loan last month. Rashford may be reluctant to leave his boyhood club, which he has represented since the age of seven, but his previous comments about Messi suggest he may leap at the chance to play with the Argentine superstar.
The Three Lions star gave his verdict on the perpetual debate of who is better out of the Barcelona legend and his great rival, Ronaldo, ahead of the 2018 World Cup. "Some of the stuff that he does is unbelievable," Rashford told CNN of Messi. "I'm a big fan of Ronaldo as well, but I think Messi is the greatest ever."
In 2020, he again hailed the Argentinian in an interview with the Financial Times, stating: "The way [Messi] finds spaces, he’s unbelievable. When I played against him for the first time, that’s what I said to Jesse [Lingard, a teammate] at half time
“He doesn’t move, but he’s everywhere, because he lets everybody else move.”
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Although Rashford believes Messi edges out his great rival in the 'greatest of all time' debate, he reserved praise for Ronaldo and leapt to his United teammate's defence earlier this year. Last season was littered with reports of disharmony behind the scenes at the Red Devils and there were even claims Ronaldo had 'irritated' his English colleagues with his desire to lead the dressing room.
In response to this speculation, Rashford took to social media with an emphatic message while quoting the news report in question, saying: "Are we just making it up as we go along now then? Please stop looking for divides."
Rashford played all 90 minutes as the Red Devils were beaten 2-1 by Brighton in their opening Premier League game of the season on Sunday, while Ronaldo - who would like to leave for a club which can offer him Champions League football - was introduced as a second-half substitute.
