Barcelona prematurely revealed their acquisition of Marcus Rashford through an accidental YouTube upload on Wednesday evening, swiftly removing the announcement video after realising their mistake.
The Catalan club's official channel briefly featured a transfer presentation before staff noticed the blunder and deleted the content, though social media users had already captured and shared the footage extensively.
The leaked video showed a presenter stating: "Welcome to 10 things you need to know about our new signing. This time we're going to do it about Marcus Rashford."
The premature disclosure occurred ahead of Barcelona's planned formal unveiling of the Manchester United striker, who is joining the Spanish side on loan.
Reuters
|Barcelona unveiled Marcus Rashford on Wednesday
The transfer arrangement includes a significant salary reduction for the 27-year-old, who will accept 15 per cent less than his current £315,000 weekly earnings at Old Trafford.
Barcelona have negotiated a purchase clause worth £30million, allowing them to make the loan permanent next summer.
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The England international will don the iconic number 14 jersey at Camp Nou, following in the footsteps of Dutch legend Johan Cruyff who famously wore the shirt for the Catalans.
Spanish publication Mundo Deportivo confirmed the shirt allocation, noting the historical significance of the number previously worn by the Barcelona icon.
The forward has expressed admiration for Thierry Henry, another notable player who wore the same number.
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Reuters
|Marcus Rashford will wear the iconic No14 for Barcelona
Production preparations for the announcement had been underway earlier in the week, with an influencer capturing Rashford participating in a media shoot at the stadium alongside a British telephone box prop on Tuesday.
The theatrical reveal plans come as Barcelona face administrative hurdles, potentially delaying Rashford's official squad registration until after their upcoming Asian tour commences this week.
The forward's departure from Manchester follows a loan spell at Aston Villa during the latter part of the previous campaign, with manager Ruben Amorim indicating the player would not feature in his tactical plans.
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Barcelona's pursuit of Rashford nearly materialised in January but stalled due to the club's need to offload players before making new acquisitions.
Former Manchester United midfielder Paul Pogba has expressed enthusiasm about his ex-teammate's Barcelona switch, sharing his thoughts during a conversation with YouTuber iShowSpeed.
"That's crazy, but I'm happy for him because they [United] took his number. Manchester United are losing a great player. Unlucky for them," Pogba remarked.
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The French international praised the acquisition for Barcelona, stating: "It's great for Barcelona to be honest. I'm not even talking about United, because they've bought a few new players and the new manager wants to do his thing I guess."
Pogba defended Amorim's decision, adding: "It's not really his [Amorim's] fault. If he doesn't believe in someone. He needs to win. If he doesn't win they're going to sack him."
United recently assigned Rashford's former number 10 jersey to Matheus Cunha, their £62.5million signing from Wolves.