Marcus Rashford's £40m Manchester United exit clause expires
Marcus Rashford's reported £40 million Manchester United exit clause expired on 15 July 2026, The Athletic reports. Clubs other than Manchester City and Liverpool could once trigger that fixed fee; any sale now depends on direct talks with United. The England forward remains tied to Old Trafford as his summer future is decided.
Key Takeaways
- The Athletic reports Rashford's £40m exit clause lapsed on 15 July, ending a fixed-price route for most buyers.
- Barcelona declined a £26m option to buy after his 2025-26 loan spell.
- Manchester United still wants a permanent sale before its August pre-season camp in Dublin.
- If no deal is done, Rashford is expected to reintegrate under Michael Carrick's first-team squad.
- The clause reportedly excluded Manchester City and Liverpool from triggering it.
Why does the expired exit clause matter for Rashford's future?
According to The Athletic, Marcus Rashford's contract contained a £40m release clause that could be activated by interested clubs outside Manchester City and Liverpool. That mechanism expired on 15 July, meaning prospective buyers can no longer secure the England international at a predetermined price.
Any transfer must now be negotiated directly with Manchester United. That shift gives the club greater control over the fee and timing of a deal, rather than leaving Rashford's departure to a simple contractual trigger.
The timing follows another closed door. Barcelona, where Rashford spent last season on loan, decided against activating a £26m option to buy him permanently. With both predefined routes now gone, United and Rashford face a more conventional transfer market this summer.
What happens if Manchester United cannot sell Rashford this summer?
Despite the expired clause, Rashford's permanent exit is not off the table. The Guardian reports he is expected to start the new season back at Manchester United if no transfer materialises before the Premier League campaign begins.
Plans are in place to reintegrate the 28-year-old into Michael Carrick's first-team setup after the World Cup. There are said to be no problems between Rashford and Carrick, even though the forward last played for United in December 2024 following a breakdown in his relationship with the club.
The BBC cites reporting that United aims to arrange a transfer before its pre-season training camp in Dublin in August, while also preparing for Rashford's return. For more on how celebrity sports stories break in real time, see our Celebrity Breaking News coverage.
When will Rashford return to Manchester United?
Rashford is currently with England at the World Cup. The Athletic reports he is set to report for pre-season under Carrick after England's third-place play-off against France on Saturday, 18 July.
The Guardian adds he will take a three-week break at the end of England's tournament run before formally joining United's pre-season training. If England had reached the final, his earliest return would have been around 10 August.
United's preference remains easing its wage bill by offloading Rashford's reported £17.5m-a-year salary, but a lack of requisite suitors has complicated a quick sale. Rashford was loaned to Aston Villa in January 2025 and Barcelona in 2025-26, yet the Guardian stresses an exit is still not entirely ruled out. Full details are in The Athletic's original report.