What Happened to First Englishman to Play for Barcelona Since Gary Lineker

In brief
Marcus McGuane was only eighteen when he was signed by Barcelona.
Since Gary Lineker almost thirty years ago, the midfielder was the first Englishman to play for the team.
Ever since moving to Camp Nou, his career has been exciting.
An increasing number of English football players have emigrated overseas and established themselves abroad in recent years. Playing abroad helped players like Jude Bellingham and Jadon Sancho become celebrities, and it’s safe to assume that they might not have achieved their current level of success otherwise.

Real Madrid has repeatedly demonstrated that they are open to considering English players for their recruitment efforts. Since joining Los Blancos in the summer of 2023, Bellingham has flourished at the Bernabeu. In addition, they have previously signed a number of outstanding players from this side of the pond, including as Steve McManaman, Michael Owen, and David Beckham. However, English-born football players are rarely brought in by their La Liga rivals, Barcelona.

One well-known example of an English star joining the team is Gary Lineker. Although his time in Spain was very successful, it took Barcelona nearly 30 years to sign another Englishman, and this time the results weren’t quite as good. In 2018, the La Liga team enticed an 18-year-old Marcus McGuane from Arsenal, who had earned some attention while playing in the Gunners’ academy and had even represented his country at several youth levels. However, he eventually moved to Spain, and his career has taken some very interesting turns since.

🎥 Marcus McGuane, the first English Barça player since @GaryLineker lets us know how it feels #SuperCopaCAT pic.twitter.com/p4HlAaEqXD

— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) March 8, 2018

McGuane Was Signed to Play for Barcelona B

He never played in the league for the senior team

Any football player would be thrilled to join a team of Barcelona’s calibre at such a young age. McGuane talked about his experience and how Philippe Coutinho contacted him after he arrived in an interview with the Daily Mail shortly after the transfer.

“It feels amazing. You enter the changing room first when attending first-team practice. It was really thrilling on that first walk. Sergio Busquets was the first guy I saw. I watched him in person as a central midfielder, and he was among the greatest in the world with the ball. His grace and technical skill were impressive. Then I saw Coutinho, and then Messi!

I grew up watching these men on TV, but I don’t want to come across as overly enamoured. There were five of us from the B team over there. “Hi” was said by the first-team members as they assembled their kits. After listening to my English accent, Coutinho greeted me warmly and offered to help if I needed it.

When McGuane joined Barcelona at the age of 18, it was obvious that he would play for the B squad, but the midfielder hoped to eventually have a chance in the starting lineup. With a €25 million release clause attached to the young player after he joined, the team had big expectations as well. He did make an appearance for Barcelona, coming off the bench in a Supercopa de Catalunya match, but he never quite fit into their plans in La Liga. However, things didn’t exactly work out that way.

Marcus McGuane training with Lionel Messi today. Must be the only Englishman to boast that honour? pic.twitter.com/Ogx8lVt0nq

— Samuel Marsden (@samuelmarsden) August 3, 2018

Due to his lack of physicality, which the Barcelona B club desperately required in the lower divisions of Spanish football, he was unable to make an impression even there and was dismissed. McGuane was loaned out to Sportclub Telstar, who were playing in the Dutch football second level, just more than eighteen months after joining the team. During his brief stint, he made 14 appearances for the team and scored one goal before leaving for Barcelona. Just over two years after joining the Catalan powerhouses, the midfielder left with just 24 games with the B team, indicating that the loan had minimal impact on his career in Spain.

McGuane Returned to England After Two Years

He joined Nottingham Forest in 2020

✍️ Welcome, @marcusmcguane58!#NFFC are delighted to confirm that Marcus McGuane has joined the club on a permanent transfer from Barcelona.

The highly-rated defensive midfielder signs for The Reds’ Under 23 side, penning a contract until 2022. pic.twitter.com/Ykat8zWozy

— Nottingham Forest Academy (@NFFCAcademy) February 26, 2020

The midfielder’s stay in Spain was short-lived, as he returned home two years later to join Nottingham Forest in the Championship. McGuane signed a two-and-a-half-year contract with the midlands team, but he was sent to their under-23 team right away, suggesting that his time at Barcelona would not be as successful as it was at Forest. In fact, the club sent him out on loan to Oxford United, a team a little lower down the football pyramid, just six months after he returned to England, and it was with the U’s that he really got the ball rolling.