Marcus Rashford - Barcelona Watch | Athletic: Progress made for permanent deal

[acnumber9]

With Rashford there’s a relevant discussion as to his future at the club based on his performances at Barca, and whether to sell him at any price or to hold out for a bigger fee, because once he returns he will still be on a fat contract with us.

When it comes to Sancho he’s shite, a gobshite and out of contract come the summer. Not much to discuss, is there?

Well yeah but I can’t say Pogue is really discussing that is he? He’s just coming in to repeatedly shit on a player he doesn’t watch for not playing well enough.

 

[Alex99]

Pretty much all stats are subjective because they lack context, that's why I rely on the eye-test, I don't need a stat to tell me whether an assist is really an assist or whether a goal was mostly skill or luck or a bit of both

Not really.

Individual goals may differ in terms of skill vs luck, but you don't score lots of goals if you're not at least good at getting into the right areas, even if the technique on the finish is a bit lacking.

Assists rely on another person to finish the chance to even make it into the stat column and have a lot of variance when it comes to determining what an assist even is.

Goals are the currency of the game, and about the only time you see any sort of ambiguity in determining a goalscorer is when a shot might have been going wide but gets deflected in.

 

[Red in STL]

Not really.

Individual goals may differ in terms of skill vs luck, but you don't score lots of goals if you're not at least good at getting into the right areas, even if the technique on the finish is a bit lacking.

Assists rely on another person to finish the chance to even make it into the stat column and have a lot of variance when it comes to determining what an assist even is.

Goals are the currency of the game, and about the only time you see any sort of ambiguity in determining a goalscorer is when a shot might have been going wide but gets deflected in.

And I don't need any stats to tell me any of this, I can judge for myself

 

[Alex99]

And I don't need any stats to tell me any of this, I can judge for myself

You don't need stats to tell you how many goals a player has scored?

 

[acnumber9]

Not really.

Individual goals may differ in terms of skill vs luck, but you don't score lots of goals if you're not at least good at getting into the right areas, even if the technique on the finish is a bit lacking.

Assists rely on another person to finish the chance to even make it into the stat column and have a lot of variance when it comes to determining what an assist even is.

Goals are the currency of the game, and about the only time you see any sort of ambiguity in determining a goalscorer is when a shot might have been going wide but gets deflected in.

You can still compare assists against other players. If a player gets more assists consistently it’s not likely to be luck.

 

[Pogue Mahone]

Well yeah but I can’t say Pogue is really discussing that is he? He’s just coming in to repeatedly shit on a player he doesn’t watch for not playing well enough.

Talking about how well he is or isn’t doing on loan at Barcelona isn’t relevant to a discussion about whether he has a future back here next season? Good one.

 

[Alex99]

You can still compare assists against other players. If a player gets more assists consistently it’s not likely to be luck.

It's certainly a starting point, but there's much more to investigate with assists than there is for goals, which is my point.

 

[acnumber9]

Talking about how well he is or isn’t doing on loan at Barcelona isn’t relevant to a discussion about whether he has a future back here next season? Good one.

That’s not what I said. I said you aren’t actually discussing that. You’re just wading in, waffling about a player you aren’t watching to say how shit he’s doing. Good one.

 

[acnumber9]

It's certainly a starting point, but there's much more to investigate with assists than there is for goals, which is my point.

The same applies to goals really. It’s easier to score goals when you have a prime De Bruyne delivering crosses versus Antony.

 

[Pogue Mahone]

That’s not what I said. I said you aren’t discussing that. Good one.

You don’t think how well he is playing at Barcelona is part of a discussion about his future at United? That’s a hell of a take but ok, whatever.

 

[acnumber9]

You don’t think how well he is playing at Barcelona should be part of a discussion about his future at United? That’s a hell of a take but ok, whatever.

Strawman.

Show me a post where you have talked about his future. You have no idea how well he is playing.

 

[Alex99]

The same applies to goals really. It’s easier to score goals when you have a prime De Bruyne delivering crosses versus Antony.

I'd wager that De Bruyne feeding Hojlund and Antony feeding Haaland is going to see Antony with greater uptick in assists than Hojlund sees in goals.

You can lead a horse to water, and all that.

 

[acnumber9]

I'd wager that De Bruyne feeding Hojlund and Antony feeding Haaland is going to see Antony with greater uptick in assists than Hojlund sees in goals.

You can lead a horse to water, and all that.

Quite possibly but that does not diminish the importance of good service.

 

[Alex99]

Quite possibly but that does not diminish the importance of good service.

I'm not saying it does.

My whole point is that being one step removed from the scoring of an actual goals makes assists a less "concrete" stat.

 

[TempusFugit]

He stank the place out in 21/22 as well

The club and the players in general stank even harder. Rashford had a tough time at the Euros with the penalty miss, came back and got shoulder surgery that kept him out for months after the season began. He never got going that season and the Rangnick hire after Ole got sacked was a complete disaster as well, close second behind Amorim as our worst manager in recent history.
Well that season went by, Ten Hag got hired and Rashford started producing again. I've noticed that there's unwillingness to consider any mitigating factors when reviewing Rashford's performances over the years. Whenever he played well we had a great season, when he didn't we flopped. Coincidence? Maybe.

 

[Alex99]

The club and the players in general stank even harder. Rashford had a tough time at the Euros with the penalty miss, came back and got shoulder surgery that kept him out for months after the season began. He never got going that season and the Rangnick hire after Ole got sacked was a complete disaster as well, close second behind Amorim as our worst manager in recent history.
Well that season went by, Ten Hag got hired and Rashford started producing again. I've noticed that there's unwillingness to consider any mitigating factors when reviewing Rashford's performances over the years. Whenever he played well we had a great season, when he didn't we flopped. Coincidence? Maybe.

Lots of players can play well when everything is going well and everyone around them is playing well.

The problem with Rashford is that the club thought he was like Bruno, and could play well when those around him weren't.

He's a shrinker, and will regress to the performance of everyone else when times are tough, but he's being paid like a leader/talisman that raises the performances of those around him.

There's no room for him here any more.

 

[TempusFugit]

Lots of players can play well when everything is going well and everyone around them is playing well.

The problem with Rashford is that the club thought he was like Bruno, and could play well when those around him weren't.

He's a shrinker, and will regress to the performance of everyone else when times are tough, but he's being paid like a leader/talisman that raises the performances of those around him.

There's no room for him here any more.

I wouldn't characterize the state of Manchester United in recent years as ''going well'' and everyone playing well. We've had more poor seasons than decent ones and all I'm saying is on the rather rare occasions we've done well Rashford was always, without fail a huge part of it.

I find your argument to be a bit simplistic, if all you needed to be great was one good player why do clubs bother stocking up on quality players? Just find one lad, pay him a fortune and rely on him to bail you out every single time. It's very easy for any sensible fan to look at our recruitment over the years and pinpoint the laughable lack of quality intricately linked to it. Did we ever buy one winger capable of matching Rashford's productivity so his off seasons wouldn't be felt as much? Here's the list : Pellistri Sancho Antony Dan James. Quite literally all flops, enough said.

Also calling Rashford a shrinker is laughable, surely not Rashford who's been consistently one of our reliable big game players. Even in the shitt*est of times we've gone through when up against a quality opponent we could usually rely on Rashford to get something in the game. Well he was basically our only forward who could on a semi-regular basis anyway. The discourse around Rashford has become so twisted that whenever i read some posts or just topics about him in general it's like it's a whole different person being talked about.

 

[Alex99]

I wouldn't characterize the state of Manchester United in recent years as ''going well'' and everyone playing well. We've had more poor seasons than decent ones and all I'm saying is on the rather rare occasions we've done well Rashford was always, without fail a huge part of it.

I find your argument to be a bit simplistic, if all you needed to be great was one good player why do clubs bother stocking up on quality players? Just find one lad, pay him a fortune and rely on him to bail you out every single time. It's very easy for any sensible fan to look at our recruitment over the years and pinpoint the laughable lack of quality intricately linked to it. Did we ever buy one winger capable of matching Rashford's productivity so his off seasons wouldn't be felt as much? Here's the list : Pellistri Sancho Antony Dan James. Quite literally all flops, enough said.

Also calling Rashford a shrinker is laughable, surely not Rashford who's been consistently one of our reliable big game players. Even in the shitt*est of times we've gone through when up against a quality opponent we could usually rely on Rashford to get something in the game. Well he was basically our only forward who could on a semi-regular basis anyway. The discourse around Rashford has become so twisted that whenever i read some posts or just topics about him in general it's like it's a whole different person being talked about.

Seems you've completely failed to comprehend my point.

Rashford has played well when others have played well around him. He is not the type to play well when times or tough, nor is he the type to lead the good performances of others.

Martial matched Rashford's output in 18/19 and 19/20.

Rashford actually dropped in 2020/21, despite that being our best season with him as a regular starter.

2022/23 remains an outlier in terms of Rashford's output standing out from his teammates.

 

[TempusFugit]

Seems you've completely failed to comprehend my point.

Rashford has played well when others have played well around him. He is not the type to play well when times or tough, nor is he the type to lead the good performances of others.

Martial matched Rashford's output in 18/19 and 19/20.

Rashford actually dropped in 2020/21, despite that being our best season with him as a regular starter.

2022/23 remains an outlier in terms of Rashford's output standing out from his teammates.

I could say the same thing to you. How come when Rashford didn't play well the teammates he's supposedly not good enough to lead or inspire into performing well completely dropped off as well? Your point makes no sense as i'm not inventing anything by saying that Rashford usually bailed us out during big games, alot of the time when we weren't even playing well as a team he'd pull a goal out of nothing. Rashford plays well = we do well, Rashford has a poor season = team has a poor season as well. I don't think your argument has alot of weight behind it, everything seems to prove you wrong.

We could've used more quality players like Martial (without the injury issues obviously) and that glaring lack of quality uptop led to our over reliance on Rashford to score. It's been nothing but a long string of extremely poor forward buys or too old/average loans. Your last sentence is significantly deviating from your original post, funny.

 

[Alex99]

I could say the same thing to you. How come when Rashford didn't play well the teammates he's supposedly not good enough to lead or inspire into performing well completely dropped off as well? Your point makes no sense as i'm not inventing anything by saying that Rashford usually bailed us out during big games, alot of the time when we weren't even playing well as a team he'd pull a goal out of nothing. Rashford plays well = we do well, Rashford has a poor season = team has a poor season as well. I don't think your argument has alot of weight behind it, everything seems to prove you wrong.

We could've used more quality players like Martial (without the injury issues obviously) and that glaring lack of quality uptop led to our over reliance on Rashford to score. It's been nothing but a long string of extremely poor forward buys or too old/average loans. Your last sentence is significantly deviating from your original post, funny.

So you think Rashford and Rashford alone is the reason we've played well? Sorry, but no.

Rashford would have probably performed better with better teammates, yes. Most players do.

I don't disagree with the notion that things could have been better for him.

I disagree wholeheartedly that he was ever worth the wage and status we gave him, and that's the crux of my point.

He's a decent squad player paid like the main man.

 

[TempusFugit]

So you think Rashford and Rashford alone is the reason we've played well? Sorry, but no.

Rashford would have probably performed better with better teammates, yes. Most players do.

I don't disagree with the notion that things could have been better for him.

I disagree wholeheartedly that he was ever worth the wage and status we gave him, and that's the crux of my point.

He's a decent squad player paid like the main man.

Not sure where you're getting that form, all i pointed out was the strange coincidence of us having a good season when Rashford was flying and crashing when he wasn't producing the goods due to one reason or another.
Agree with your second point, the club's failure to move past the need for Rashford to be the main man year after year was a critical failure. Rashford definitely has the quality to be an integral part of a title winning squad but he won't drag you to that level single handedly.
I can see why the club would agree to improve his wages (he was already on £200k at that that point after posting 30g/a seasons under Ole) after he just put up 44g/a season, it seemed like a natural progression back then and a general acceptance that he'd become the main man.

The constant failure to recruit properly was just a running theme during all of this, because you don't get a winger producing such numbers and provide Weghorst then Højlund as strikers to help him out. This issue has affected players like Pogba as well, failing to recruit a proper DM help him our in midfield, being paired with Old man Matic, Fred and Mctominay then getting Casemiro immediately after he left. Staggering incompetence. Luckily Ineos do seem to have a different approach. Time will tell.

 

[Djemba-Djemba]

Lots of players can play well when everything is going well and everyone around them is playing well.

The problem with Rashford is that the club thought he was like Bruno, and could play well when those around him weren't.

He's a shrinker, and will regress to the performance of everyone else when times are tough, but he's being paid like a leader/talisman that raises the performances of those around him.

There's no room for him here any more.

Think this is ultimately the biggest issue.

Rashford would have been fine here as the 4th or 5th most important player. If we'd had 3 or 4 world class players consistently in the squad that could have shouldered the responsibility Rashford would have been a great asset to have and probably still be here. Sounds like that's his role at Barcelona now.

But like you said we were paying him and relying on him like he was our most important player. And he's just never going to be that sort of player.

 

[Stickz]

I don't watch him in Spain either but have as much right to wade into this thread as you do, having also not watched him. My point is that focusing on "G+A" is a (deliberately?) misleading way to analyse a player's contribution. Goas and assists aren't interchangeable, they never have been. The ability to put the ball in the net has always been the most highly valued skill in football and will have been the main reason for Rashford's enormous salary. I think it's reasonable to point out - in a thread all about his value to United/Barcelona - that the insistence by some in this thread to only discuss "goal contributions" is disingenuous. And I agree that Barca will most likely be as unconvinced by those stats as I am, when it comes to offering him the salary he is on at United and/or paying a decent fee for him.

have argued this repeatedly re GA. It can be massively misleading. Assists from corners and playing basic passes particularly inflate players attacking productivity.

On the flip, sometimes a player does something creatively brilliant and the attacking player doesn’t put the ball in the net. (e.g. Cunha to Dalot v Brighton)

Forwards (including wingers today - lets face it, they're not exactly midfielders) should be judged on goal scoring far more than GA as a whole when A can be so easily padded up.

 

[thepolice123]

My point is hes not suddenly become a world beating superstar since hes left. He was decent for us and is a decent option for Barca. Hes not worth bringing back on mega wages with the additional circus round him, he's nowhere near good enough to justify that.
If he was on an average wage, kept his head down and was hard working then he would be a good bench option for us but thats not the state of play so can people move on and look forward not back

Never said he’s a world beater or that I want him back.

The point is he’s playing reduced minutes and it’s his first season in a new country and league. Some of the criticism feels way over the top.

He’s on huge wages because we gave him huge wages. He’s very much a product of the Woodward/Glazers era and the mess we created.

Personally, I hope he does well, we get a decent fee, and everyone moves on. He came through the academy and deserves at least a bit of support.

And honestly, I don’t think he’s showing anything different from what we saw with us. Was never big fan of his when he was with us anyway.

 

[EireRed_GS]

Can't see Barca coughing up the money for him. He's been decent, not amazing, but has done well enough and put himself about for a change. But Barca will be extremely shrewd with how they spend their money now (we all know they are absolutely fecked financially) , but I think the level of return just may not be there for them with Marcus. Most other clubs would prob take him on the cut price, just not too sure about Barca... They wouldnt pay him the same level of wages either.

If he is sent back to us, he might have a few more suitors willing to take him as he has actually tried out there for a change.. I wouldn't entertain the idea of letting him back in that Utd squad though, he's had his chance. When does his Utd contract end anyway?

 

[AnotherLondonManc]

Can't see Barca coughing up the money for him. He's been decent, not amazing, but has done well enough and put himself about for a change. But Barca will be extremely shrewd with how they spend their money now (we all know they are absolutely fecked financially) , but I think the level of return just may not be there for them with Marcus. Most other clubs would prob take him on the cut price, just not too sure about Barca... They wouldnt pay him the same level of wages either.

If he is sent back to us, he might have a few more suitors willing to take him as he has actually tried out there for a change.. I wouldn't entertain the idea of letting him back in that Utd squad though, he's had his chance. When does his Utd contract end anyway?

I don't see why anyone would put up the cash to buy him this summer. When Barca pull out of their option, our position will be severely compromised as he's on huge wages, and not in the first team plans.

We'll be begging teams to take him off of our hands, and I can't envisage anything but another loan with an option (unless Rashford's willing to go to Saudi, god willing)

 

[Rooney in Paris]

I think there are many that simply can't forgive him for the nature of his exit.

Yeah totally get that and as I said, it's fine - I just don't particularly get the overly emotional element to it (without any judgment for those who do, I know we all consume and enjoy football differently) but I think there's a lot of downplaying and presenting figures in certain ways linked to this lack of objectivity.

 

[Alex99]

Yeah totally get that and as I said, it's fine - I just don't particularly get the overly emotional element to it (without any judgment for those who do, I know we all consume and enjoy football differently) but I think there's a lot of downplaying and presenting figures in certain ways linked to this lack of objectivity.

I think that aspect is going both ways. There's a contingent in here that seem intent on overstating his figures and presenting them without context. This is also often accompanied by a tone of incredulity when people think that what he's doing isn't particularly special and caps at "quite good".

Again, 75% of his output has come in less than 50% of his appearances. It's the exact sort of "purple-patch" of form he enjoyed with us in his best seasons. Add in that his main output has been assists, and not the goals he's been known for his entire career, and it should be easy to see why people are taking those numbers with a pinch of salt.

For further context, Rashford's league tally of 11 goal contributions (3 goals, 8 assists) is just two more than Antony's at a far inferior Real Betis (5 goals, 4 assists).

 

[dinostar77]

Can't see Barca coughing up the money for him. He's been decent, not amazing, but has done well enough and put himself about for a change. But Barca will be extremely shrewd with how they spend their money now (we all know they are absolutely fecked financially) , but I think the level of return just may not be there for them with Marcus. Most other clubs would prob take him on the cut price, just not too sure about Barca... They wouldnt pay him the same level of wages either.

If he is sent back to us, he might have a few more suitors willing to take him as he has actually tried out there for a change.. I wouldn't entertain the idea of letting him back in that Utd squad though, he's had his chance. When does his Utd contract end anyway?

Lots of reports from Spain say Barcelona want to keep him. As usual for Barcelona they will want to try to negotiate fee down. Par for course for Barcelona.

It will happen. Club is happy with him and he is happy there. I can see him taking a paycut to stay there.

 

[Doracle]

I think that aspect is going both ways. There's a contingent in here that seem intent on overstating his figures and presenting them without context. This is also often accompanied by a tone of incredulity when people think that what he's doing isn't particularly special and caps at "quite good".

Again, 75% of his output has come in less than 50% of his appearances. It's the exact sort of "purple-patch" of form he enjoyed with us in his best seasons. Add in that his main output has been assists, and not the goals he's been known for his entire career, and it should be easy to see why people are taking those numbers with a pinch of salt.

For further context, Rashford's league tally of 11 goal contributions (3 goals, 8 assists) is just two more than Antony's at a far inferior Real Betis (5 goals, 4 assists).

In 200 less minutes.

That purple patch stuff is also such nonsense. To put it in perspective for this season, Rashford has played 16 matches where he has played at least 60 minutes. In 13 of them, he’s either scored or assisted at least one goal. That’s the very opposite of a purple patch. More or less every time he gets a decent period of time on the pitch, he delivers.

 

[AndySmith1990]

Not arsed how much we sell him for. A bit of money + the wages saved is good for us.

 

[Giggsy13]

Latest rumour today is that Barca have offered up Marc Casado in exchange for a permanent deal for Rashford. Have no idea who he is but he’s defensive midfielder…

 

[ShoePolish]

Really bizzare how he seems perplexed fans are on his case unjustly after putting in the shifts that he does. Has he seen the clips of himself like the one v Luton where Barkley jogs around him, or City in FA cup final where he doesn't bother going for a 2nd ball, among others?

 

[Alex99]

In 200 less minutes.

That purple patch stuff is also such nonsense. To put it in perspective for this season, Rashford has played 16 matches where he has played at least 60 minutes. In 13 of them, he’s either scored or assisted at least one goal. That’s the very opposite of a purple patch. More or less every time he gets a decent period of time on the pitch, he delivers.

Antony has played "200 more minutes", but for a far worse team. They're 20 points off Barcelona, and have scored 23 goals fewer.

Rashford can't simultaneously be doing so well at Barcelona that his stats are worthy of massive praise, whilst requiring "but Antony has played more minutes!" to make him stand out from a player we all know is mid-table fodder at best.

I disagree that it's not a purple-patch, given that the very definition of a purple-patch is over-performing for a short period (and there was perhaps a reason he got a run of games where he spent more time on the pitch, such as going through a purple-patch of form), but even if we ignore that and focus just on what he's delivered, there's another side to that coin.

Rashford has delivered fairly consistently, but the same is true for basically all of Barcelona's attacking players.

With one every 85 minutes, he's noticeably behind Raphina and Lopez for "minutes per goal contribution" (one every 76 and 77 minutes respectively), and slightly ahead of Lewandowski and Yamal (88 and 89 minutes).

However, along with Ferran Torres, all have scored more goals than Rashford, and even Dani Olmo nips in ahead of him in terms of "minutes per goal".

Rashford is on one every 199 minutes, Olmo every 190, Yamal one every 186, then Lopez one every 162. The other three are much closer to "goal-a-game" territory, with Lewandowski at one every 110 minutes, Torres every 109, and Raphina every 105.

He's a cog in a well-oiled machine, and I'd suggest his lack of goals is precisely why he's not had "a decent period of time on the pitch" in more games.

I'm glad he's not stinking the place out, but between past performances, attitude, etc. and wages, there's no way back for him, and nothing he's doing at Barcelona is really a surprise given how his best seasons generally played out here.

Some of you may find it odd that others want to "downplay" his performances. We find it odd how you want to overstate them.

 

[theatreofdreams777]

Barcelona are a shameless club and you can put your money on they will try to lowball us when they already have a cut price deal. 30 m euros is nothing for a player like Rashford in this market and if they're not willing to pay even that or try another loan we should tell them to do one.

 

[Alex99]

Barcelona are a shameless club and you can put your money on they will try to lowball us when they already have a cut price deal. 30 m euros is nothing for a player like Rashford in this market and if they're not willing to pay even that or try another loan we should tell them to do one.

They can't afford it. It's as simple as that. They've made a net-profit on transfers across the past three seasons.

With Lewandowski as good as gone in the summer (on a free), they need to replace his goals, and Rashford isn't the player to do that.

If we don't have to pay his wages, we'd be daft to refuse another loan.

 

[DOTA]

They can't afford it. It's as simple as that. They've made a net-profit on transfers across the past three seasons.

With Lewandowski as good as gone in the summer (on a free), they need to replace his goals, and Rashford isn't the player to do that.

If we don't have to pay his wages, we'd be daft to refuse another loan.

You're right we shouldn't play silly games if it comes down to another loan or paying him ourselves but I think we may well get a permanent deal done.

 

[Alex99]

You're right we shouldn't play silly games if it comes down to another loan or paying him ourselves but I think we may well get a permanent deal done.

I think it really depends on who they go for as their Lewandowski replacement.

They may well end up looking at free options or loans there, so then the budget is there for Rashford.

If we get £20-25 million for him and got his wages totally off the books, we've done well.

 

[theatreofdreams777]

They can't afford it. It's as simple as that. They've made a net-profit on transfers across the past three seasons.

With Lewandowski as good as gone in the summer (on a free), they need to replace his goals, and Rashford isn't the player to do that.

If we don't have to pay his wages, we'd be daft to refuse another loan.

Couldn't care less what they can afford or not and I'm not sure why we should be concerned about it but I'm sure they will pay more than 30m for another signing they will make this summer while pleading poverty when trying to make a deal for Rashford.

They'll just try to do what Real Betis did last summer. Try to lowball as mus as possible and wait until the last minute.

People can hate Rashford as much as they want but he's still an asset to most teams at the top level. Don't think another loan without any payment is a good deal for us. We should be getting more from this.

 

[Alex99]

Couldn't care less what they can afford or not and I'm not sure why we should be concerned about it but I'm sure they will pay more than 30m for another signing they will make this summer while pleading poverty when trying to make a deal for Rashford.

They'll just try to do what Real Betis did last summer. Try to lowball as mus as possible and wait until the last minute.

People can hate Rashford as much as they want but he's still an asset to most teams at the top level. Don't think another loan without any payment is a good deal for us. We should be getting more from this.

They literally are skint though.

Barcelona have other areas to prioritise, so yes, they may well "pay more than 30m for another signing," but their transfer business across the past three seasons indicates that they'll only really have the budget for one proper signing, so when they start "pleading poverty," they'll probably be telling the truth.

Rashford is unlikely to want to entertain a move elsewhere, we don't even know if anyone else is interested, and his wages are going to remain a huge obstacle even if they are.

If we can flog him elsewhere, sure. However, if we get deep into the window and he's still here, with no one else interested, it'd be stupid to turn another loan down just to play some stupid game, because we'll be the ones left with a player burning through 300k a week of the wage budget.

It'd be the same mistake Chelsea made with Sterling in the summer, where they tried to pretend like they didn't care whether he stayed or went, and all that's happened there is Sterling collecting his daft wage off them for half a season and being paid off to find a new club when they finally realised no one wanted to buy him.