Marcus Rashford has been passed by a Barcelona referendum as members voted in favour of signing the England forward permanently. Rashford made the move to reigning La Liga champions on loan from Manchester United over the summer having been outcast by head coach Ruben Amorim. But the 28-year-old has gone on to make an impressive impact for the Blaugrana - who may now be prepared to extend his stay in Spain.
Barca members vote in signing Rashford
He has been instrumental in Barcelona's fine start to the season, providing six assists and scoring a further two goals for Hansi Flick's side. After a minor blip, Barcelona capitalised upon Real Madrid's downturn in form to head into La Liga's winter break top of the table.
A 2-0 victory at Villarreal last weekend extended Barcelona's winning run to eight matches as they maintained their lead at the top of the table to four points. And as Barcelona continue to shine domestically, its members have voted in favor of making Rashford's move permanent.
In a poll from the Catalan outlet Mundo Deportivo put to club members, 54.6% of those surveyed support his permanent signing, while 35.6% are against retaining Rashford's services. A further 6.3% believe it is best to wait until the end of the season before deciding the striker's Spotify Camp Nou future.
The vote comes as a boost for Rashford, who earlier this month acknowledged his desire to remain at Barcelona.
Rashford 'wants' Barcelona stay
Speaking with Spanish publication SPORT, Rashford said: "What I want is to stay at Barca. It's the ultimate goal, but it's not the reason I'm training hard and giving my all. The purpose is to win. Barca is a huge, fantastic club, built to win titles."
Asked about his early impressions of the city and how he has settled in at the club, Rashford replied: "I'm settling in really well at the club, in the city. From the moment I arrived, I felt very welcomed.
"I'm here to help the team win trophies, which was fantastic last season; life goes so fast, it changes, and the goal is to repeat those successes. I'm totally focused on that. Everything has gone fantastically great with the staff and with my teammates, without complaints.
And Rashford said he is in the "perfect place" to continue his career: "I'm in the perfect place and environment to continue my journey as a footballer, so I'm just trying to give my best every day and help the team win. We'll see what happens next summer."
Flick hails Rashford's 'mentality' Barcelona boss Flick has also previously spoken highly of Rashford, as the German insisted that the on-loan forward had the "right mindset" to succeed with the Spanish giants. "When I talk to the players, I explain why they didn't play," Flick said recently. "When I tried to explain to Rashford why he wasn't a starter, he said: 'You don't need to explain to me.' The important thing is that the team wins and we get the three points. Nothing else matters. This is the right mindset and I'm glad it's with us." However, while the poll of members went well for Rashford, it wasn't quite the same when results came to teammate Robert Lewandowski. The Poland international's current deal expires at the end of the season, though Barcelona have an option to extend his deal by a further year. A whopping 59.3% of members polled voted 'no' to Lewandowski staying with the club, while only 31.6% voted to keep the services of the 37-year-old. 5.3% did not express their opinion on Lewandowski's future and 3.6% claimed they would decide based on terms of the striker's new contract.