Barcelona Pick Gordon Over Rashford As Deco Reveals Why
Barcelona sporting director Deco has explained the club’s decision to sign Anthony Gordon instead of retaining Marcus Rashford, saying the England winger was considered a better fit for the Spanish champions’ style of play.
Rashford spent last season on loan at Barcelona, scoring 14 goals as the Catalan giants won LaLiga and the Spanish Supercopa.
Despite his impressive contribution, Barcelona declined the €30 million option to make his move permanent and instead invested €70 million to sign Gordon from Newcastle United.
According to Deco, the decision was largely influenced by Gordon’s ability to provide the intensity and energy demanded by head coach Hansi Flick.
“We are extremely grateful to Rashford.
He contributed a lot last season, but our idea of play is much more linked to Anthony,” Deco told RAC1, via ESPN.
“His style fits with what the coach [Flick] is looking for.”
Gordon, 25, has yet to score for Barcelona but has already made an impact, providing five assists in his opening five appearances for the club.
The former Newcastle winger has also quickly won over the Barcelona supporters, who recently chanted his name during a 5-2 victory over Rayo Vallecano.
Deco revealed that Barcelona studied several wingers before settling on Gordon, with the club particularly attracted to his intensity and work rate.
“We see every training session and analyse the team,” he said.
“We have a clear idea what we’re looking for. One of the areas we struggled last season, without Raphinha, was that the team’s energy dropped.
“We needed more intensity. We analysed a lot of wingers. Signing someone from the Premier League is almost impossible, but [Flick] was clear with what he wanted and we worked on a deal from there.”
Gordon was among six first-team arrivals at Barcelona during the summer transfer window, alongside Rodri, Joao Cancelo, Karim Adeyemi, Gabriel Jesus and Dominik Livakovic.
Deco also addressed Barcelona’s failure to sign Bernardo Silva, who eventually joined Clasico rivals Real Madrid.
The Barcelona chief said the proposed move collapsed partly because Silva had different expectations regarding his playing time.
“He wasn’t what we were looking for in the end,” Deco said. “I love him. He’s one of the best in the world in his position.
“He wanted to come to Barça, but things didn’t move forward because we have certain parameters. It wasn’t just a financial issue, it was also about playing time.
“He had a different perception to us after playing regularly at City. He wanted to play.”
Rashford spent last season on loan at Barcelona, scoring 14 goals as the Catalan giants won LaLiga and the Spanish Supercopa.
Despite his impressive contribution, Barcelona declined the €30 million option to make his move permanent and instead invested €70 million to sign Gordon from Newcastle United.
According to Deco, the decision was largely influenced by Gordon’s ability to provide the intensity and energy demanded by head coach Hansi Flick.
“We are extremely grateful to Rashford.
He contributed a lot last season, but our idea of play is much more linked to Anthony,” Deco told RAC1, via ESPN.
“His style fits with what the coach [Flick] is looking for.”
Gordon, 25, has yet to score for Barcelona but has already made an impact, providing five assists in his opening five appearances for the club.
The former Newcastle winger has also quickly won over the Barcelona supporters, who recently chanted his name during a 5-2 victory over Rayo Vallecano.
Deco revealed that Barcelona studied several wingers before settling on Gordon, with the club particularly attracted to his intensity and work rate.
“We see every training session and analyse the team,” he said.
“We have a clear idea what we’re looking for. One of the areas we struggled last season, without Raphinha, was that the team’s energy dropped.
“We needed more intensity. We analysed a lot of wingers. Signing someone from the Premier League is almost impossible, but [Flick] was clear with what he wanted and we worked on a deal from there.”
Gordon was among six first-team arrivals at Barcelona during the summer transfer window, alongside Rodri, Joao Cancelo, Karim Adeyemi, Gabriel Jesus and Dominik Livakovic.
Deco also addressed Barcelona’s failure to sign Bernardo Silva, who eventually joined Clasico rivals Real Madrid.
The Barcelona chief said the proposed move collapsed partly because Silva had different expectations regarding his playing time.
“He wasn’t what we were looking for in the end,” Deco said. “I love him. He’s one of the best in the world in his position.
“He wanted to come to Barça, but things didn’t move forward because we have certain parameters. It wasn’t just a financial issue, it was also about playing time.
“He had a different perception to us after playing regularly at City. He wanted to play.”
