Marcus Rashford forming 'very close' bond with Barcelona youngster behind the scenes

Marcus Rashford is said to be forming a close friendship with Barcelona team-mate Roony Bardghji after both players moved to Spain at the same time. The England international joined Barca on loan from Manchester United in the summer, while Bardghji was signed from Copenhagen on a permanent deal.

Rashford has been a key player for Barcelona this season and has already bagged five goals and six assists in 12 appearances for his side. His electric form follows a period of underperformance at Old Trafford, where he scored just 11 goals in 48 Premier League appearances for United across a season-and-a-half before being shipped off to Aston Villa on loan.

Barcelona paid an initial fee of less than £2.5million to sign Bardghji after the 19-year-old had starred for Copenhagen in the Danish league and the Champions League.

He arrived at the Nou Camp giants in mid-July, with Rashford completing his loan deal a week later.

And discussing his friendship with the Englishman, the teenager told Bein Sports: "I'm very close to Rashford. We arrived at the same time, so everything was new for us.

"We always trained together, doing drills. Everything was new, so yes, we're pretty close. But, I mean, the whole team helped me a lot."

Bardghji, who made his Sweden debut earlier this month, also spoke about his relationship with Rashford during an interview with Fotbollskanalen in September.

After being asked if his best mates at Barcelona are Marc Casado and Rashford, he said: "Yes, that's true, but I'm friends with everyone. It's a fantastic group.

"It's like a family - something I haven't felt before in other teams - where everyone is really close to each other. Many of them have grown up and played together since youth football. It's not really a group of friends that you're with all the time, but everyone is with everyone."

He added: "But in the beginning there was a lot with Rashford because we were new. I had played against him before and we lived in the same hotel.

"We lived next door to each other in the hotel so it was automatic that you got closer to him. Well, he's nice. Very laid back and calm person. Doesn't say much."

Rashford and Bardghji both featured in Barca's 6-1 Champions League thrashing of Olympiacos on Tuesday as the Catalan giants ended the third round of fixtures in ninth position in the overall standings. And they will be aiming to help their team to victory in the El Clasico on Sunday when Barcelona travel to Real Madrid.