With Barcelona weighing up whether to make Rashford's loan move permanent, Manchester United's board floated the idea of including the 19-year-old midfielder as part of any deal, even suggesting they could lower their asking price for the forward in exchange, according to Mundo Deportivo.
Barcelona refused to consider selling a player who has the full backing of head coach Hansi Flick, and Bernal himself made clear he had no interest in the move, with his sole focus on establishing himself at Camp Nou.
Rashford scored 14 goals and provided 14 assists as Barcelona won the La Liga title last season, but the club ultimately chose not to trigger the roughly €30m option that would have made his stay permanent, meaning his loan spell has now come to an end. Arsenal, Aston Villa, Bayern Munich, Newcastle United and Tottenham Hotspur are among the clubs credited with interest in the 28-year-old forward as his future is decided.
Bernal has become one of Barcelona's most closely guarded academy products, with the club treating him as central to its midfield plans for years to come. His performances since breaking into the first team have attracted admirers from across Europe, but he has consistently signalled that his development will continue in Catalonia rather than elsewhere.
For United, the approach for Bernal reflects a broader search for a physical presence in central midfield following Casemiro's departure, with the Old Trafford hierarchy viewing the Spaniard as a potentially value-for-money option. That avenue now appears closed, leaving United to explore other targets as they reshape the middle of the park, while Rashford's next destination remains one of the more closely watched sagas of the summer.
Barcelona's decision not to activate the buy option was driven largely by financial considerations, with the club looking to balance its books after a spending-heavy summer that already brought in Anthony Gordon and Karim Adeyemi.
Rashford is understood to have wanted to stay at Camp Nou, but with those signings in place, his opportunities looked increasingly limited even before the deadline passed.