Marcus Rashford vs Matheus Cunha: Man United left wing verdict after transfer update
Manchester United could be set to keep Marcus Rashford next season after a permanent move to Barcelona fell through
ast summer there was a passing of the torch at Manchester United as Matheus Cunha was awarded the No.10 shirt before Marcus Rashford’s move to Barcelona was confirmed. Soon after, the latter achieved his ambition of moving to Barca.
Fast forward to 2026 and Rashford could be on the verge of an unexpected comeback. United’s ambition is still to sell the 28-year-old but they won’t be forced into a third loan spell.
Rashford spoke about his future before England’s last-16 clash with Mexico. “I was very clear with everyone involved before the World Cup, I wanted it (a move) done before,” he told reporters in Kansas. “If it’s not, I wanted it to wait until after. I want to be fully present in the moment. We’re fighting for something special.”
With the door ajar for Rashford’s return, MEN Sport has compared the academy graduate to Cunha to see how they stack up.
For the purposes of this comparison, we are using Cunha and Rashford’s stats from their Premier League and La Liga campaigns respectively. In terms of goals, Cunha leads the way with ten to his name compared to Rashford’s eight. However, the loanee notably picked up more assists with seven to Cunha’s two.
In terms of shots per game, Who Scored has Cunha leading the way (2.7 to 2.4). Whereas Rashford’s pass success percentage is marginally higher at 84.7 per cent to 80.5.
Interestingly, despite being two inches smaller than Rashford, it is Cunha who wins more aerial battles at 0.8 compared to a meagre 0.1. A trend soon becomes noticeable when you move onto their offensive abilities.
Rashford dominates the passing statistics, making more key passes (1.4 to 1), crosses (0.9 to 0.3) and long balls (0.8 to 0.7) than Cunha per 90 minutes. However, the Brazil international dominates other areas like dribbles (1.3 to 0.9), and fouls drawn by the opposition (1.6 to 0.8).
What Carrick thinks
Michael Carrick knows both men well. When he was in the twilight of his career, Carrick played with Rashford and often praised the youngster when given the chance.
“Pace makes a big difference,” he said in 2017. “There was space out there and Marcus came on to exploit it. You could sense he was going to create something as he nearly got inside a couple of times before he set up the goal.”
As interim head coach, Carrick left the door open for Rashford to return, noting in April: “I just think there’s decisions to be made in time on certain things and obviously Marcus is in that situation.
“But at this point in time, nothing’s been decided. And it will be, because it has to be at a certain point. But at this stage, there’s nothing to say.”
Cunha began on the outskirts of the team when Carrick joined due to Patrick Dorgu’s great form, but after the Denmark international got injured at Arsenal, the Brazilian came on to score the winner for his team. “Matheus coming on and having a big impact again, like he did last week [vs Manchester City],” Carrick said.
“Creating a goal last week. I really fancied him to score. Again, fantastic finish. Kind of epitomises probably what, as a group, we’ve been like this week.
“Matheus has not started both games, but he’s had a real big impact and he’s been disappointed not to start, but he’s used it in a really good way. Two huge moments and he totally deserves that winning goal for that, how he’s applied himself all week and I’m absolutely delighted for him.”
There is not too much to separate Cunha and Rashford. You sense Carrick would be willing to give Rashford a fresh chance, should it come to it.
However, has too much water gone under the bridge? Some of those performances we saw from Rashford prior to him leaving were not what we saw him produce for Barcelona, or England for that matter.
Cunha feels like the future for the Reds. His goal return was good for a debut season and if he can kick on and add a few assists to his game, Cunha is the obvious choice to start on the left even if Rashford does return
