Marcus Rashford stepped off the plane in Catalonia and straight into the hearts of hundreds of vulnerable children yesterday, proving once again that his superpower isn’t just the left foot that terrorising Premier League defences, but the relentless drive to change lives off the pitch.

The 28-year-old Manchester United forward, currently on a season-long loan at FC Barcelona, swapped the Camp Nou floodlights for the humble playgrounds of Escola Vedruna Àngels and the Centre Comunitari Submarí in the city’s working-class Raval district. What was meant to be a low-key first visit with the Fundació Barça turned into pure, unfiltered joy the second the kids spotted him.

One eight-year-old boy, Miguel, burst into tears and sprinted across the courtyard to hug Rashford’s legs the moment he walked through the gate. “He kept saying ‘Ets tu de veritat?’ – ‘Are you really you?’” laughed a teacher. “Marcus just knelt down, wiped the tears away and told him in perfect Spanish he learned on Duolingo, ‘Sí, soy yo, y estoy aquí para ti’ – Yes, it’s me, and I’m here for you.’”

Rashford spent the entire day with children from refugee families, kids in foster care, and youngsters living below the poverty line – the exact demographic the Fundació Barça’s social programs target. He joined a football session where he let a tiny girl wearing mismatched boots nutmeg him three times in a row, pretended to be furious, then lifted her onto his shoulders as the “new queen of Barcelona”. He handed out United and Barça shirts from a giant sack, signed every single one with personal messages, and sat cross-legged on the floor eating paella with teenagers who’d never had a famous footballer ask them about their dreams before.

But it was his words at the end of the day that left staff speechless.

“Since I was young, I’ve always tried to help in situations like this,” Rashford told a huddle of wide-eyed kids and emotional teachers. “Being here today means the world to me. I’m in a new country, I’m still learning the language, still finding my feet on the pitch, but off it? This is where I feel most at home. I need to understand the people here so I can start giving back properly. Today is fantastic, but I hope it’s not the last time I can do something like this. I want this to be the first of many.”

He then turned to the Fundació Barça team and added quietly: “Tell me what you need – money, time, awareness, whatever. I’m in.”

Behind the scenes, the visit was months in the making. Ever since Rashford arrived in Barcelona on deadline day in August, he’s been privately meeting with the club’s foundation, studying their refugee integration and anti-poverty programs the same way he studies defenders. Sources say he rejected several lucrative brand appearances to keep yesterday free, and personally paid for 200 new football boots to be delivered to the schools next week.

One Fundació worker wiped away tears as she recalled Rashford spending 20 minutes with a Syrian boy who hadn’t spoken since arriving in Spain six months ago. “Marcus just sat with him, no pressure, kicking a ball back and forth. By the end the boy was laughing and shouting ‘Marcuuus!’ every time he scored. It was the first time we’d heard his voice.”

Even Barça’s president Joan Laporta made an unannounced appearance, pulling Rashford aside to say: “You’re not just on loan to our team, Marcus. You’re on loan to our city. And the city already loves you.”

Rashford’s charity work in the UK is legendary: forcing government U-turns on free school meals, partnering with FareShare to feed millions during the pandemic, launching his own child food poverty taskforce. But this is the first time he’s taken that mission abroad. Insiders say he’s already planning to fly his In the Box campaign – the initiative that delivered 200,000 meals to Manchester families last Christmas – to Catalonia in 2026, with local restaurants and supermarkets on standby.

As he left the Centre Comunitari Submarí, dozens of children chased his car down the narrow streets waving handmade signs: “Gràcies Marcus”, “Rashford és culer”, “No te’n vagis mai” – Don’t ever leave.

He wound down the window, flashed that trademark shy smile, and shouted back in his still-improving Spanish: “Prometo que tornaré. Això només és el principi.” I promise I’ll be back. This is only the beginning.

Back in Manchester, United fans who’ve spent months debating his form watched the footage with lumps in their throats. One viral tweet summed it up: “He might be scoring fewer goals this season, but he’s still changing more lives than ever. That’s our Marcus.”

In a football world obsessed with transfers, wages and TikTok dances, Rashford just reminded everyone why he’s different. The loan spell ends in June. The legacy he’s building in Barcelona? That looks permanent.