Rashford backed by bomb-squad allies after Barcelona CL double against Newcastle

Marcus Rashford has received boosting support from former Manchester United teammates after delivering a Champions League showing for Barcelona that included a double in a 2-1 win over Newcastle United at St James’ Park.

The England forward scored his first goals for the La Liga champions on Thursday night, including a stunning second from distance that helped overturn Newcastle’s lead and signaled a bright spell for a player who has endured a turbulent close to his United career. The performance sparked renewed talk about his form and future as Barcelona push for a deep run in Europe, while a group of Rashford’s former team-mates offered public backing from different corners of the social-media landscape.

The posts from ex-United stars included Jadon Sancho and Bruno Fernandes, who both took to Instagram to celebrate Rashford’s goal haul. Fernandes, who made 215 appearances alongside Rashford at United, shared a clip of the second goal to his 9.7 million followers and added three shocked emojis, tagging his former team-mate in the process. The post ignited a social-media stir, with some fans arguing it reflected a clash with former manager Ruben Amorim’s decision to exile Rashford from United’s first-team plans. Sancho, who has not played for United since August 2024 amid public rifts with former manager Erik ten Hag and Amorim, posted a video of Rashford’s first goal—header number one—and also tagged Rashford in the caption, adding fire and salute emojis. Rashford then appeared to share both posts to his own Instagram story, where his 20.4 million followers could see the celebrations.

The clash between Rashford’s on-field form and his former club’s leadership has been a talking point for months. Nicky Butt, a member of United’s Treble-winning squad in 1999 and a current pundit for BBC, weighed in after Rashford’s latest milestone. “If I was Ruben Amorim, I’d be thinking, what have I done?” Butt quipped, before adding that United were clearly struggling and that players need to move on when things aren’t going well. “Manchester United are obviously struggling. Players need to move on if it's not going well, you need to be loved and Marcus definitely needs an arm around him and to be loved. When he is, he shows what he can do.”

Behind the scenes, the timing of Rashford’s breakthrough with Barcelona sits against a broader arc. The bomb-squad label—applied to Rashford and Sancho after they were told they had no future at United—emerged in the summer as a response to a perception that a faction within the squad would not feature in Amorim’s plans. Sancho, Antony and Tyrell Malacia were among those who faced departures or relegation to travel with a separate group away from the first team during pre-season; Malacia, in particular, remained a player who could re-enter the fold, illustrating the fragile dynamics that defined Rashford’s exit from Old Trafford.

The public comments from Sancho and Fernandes alongside Rashford’s own social-media activity underscore a broader sense of solidarity among players who have shared a locker room at United. Morgan Rogers, Rashford’s England teammate and former Villa prospect, joined the chorus with a comment that read simply: “Wowwww,” accompanied by fire emojis. In August, Sancho posted a group image featuring Malacia and Antony—plus injured defender Lisandro Martínez—captioning it, “my brothers!” further signaling the ongoing connections among Rashford’s circle of former teammates as he begins a new chapter in Barcelona.

As Rashford continues to adapt to life in Spain and thrusts forward Barcelona’s attacking ambitions, the supportive chorus from his ex-teammates stands in contrast to the internal tensions that once surrounded his United tenure. The Camp Nou star’s current performance history—marked by a Europa League-like late flourish in his return to England—has reignited questions about what might have been had Amorim’s stance never hardened, though the present moment is defined by Rashford’s on-field productivity and the rapid-fire social-media public show of backing from friends and former colleagues. In the immediate term, Rashford’s two-goal night at St James’ Park provides a tangible signal that his Barcelona career could be on a positive trajectory, even as the old club’s executive concerns linger in the background.

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