Kieran Trippier exclusive: Newcastle star reveals advice to England team-mate Marcus Rashford before Manchester United loan exit for Barcelona

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England team-mates Kieran Trippier and Marcus Rashford missed the chance to do battle on the St James' Park turf last week in the UEFA Champions League last-16 first leg, with Trippier exiting the field as Rashford was introduced. But the pair could be set for an intriguing duel at Camp Nou on Wednesday as Newcastle United and Barcelona face off with the aggregate score level at 1-1.

'Don't think twice' - Trippier reveals messages with Rashford before Barcelona move

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Kieran Trippier revealed the advice he gave to Marcus Rashford before the England forward completed his loan move to Barcelona.

Rashford had fallen out of favour under Ruben Amorim and spent the second half of the 2024/25 season on loan at Aston Villa before making his first move abroad last summer.

The 28-year-old has recorded 10 goals and 13 assists in 38 matches for Hansi Flick's side this season and has spoken about his desire to remain at Camp Nou on a permanent deal.

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Before the UEFA Champions League round of 16 second leg against Newcastle United, Trippier - who spent two and a half years with Atletico Madrid in La Liga - told TNT Sports about the message exchange he had with international team-mate Rashford before the summer move was completed.

"I spoke to him after the first leg," Trippier said. "But he spoke to me before he moved out here, asking, 'Would it be a good move, going and living abroad?'

"I said, 'Don’t think twice, go and experience it. Don’t come to the end of your career and regret not going abroad.' And he’s been flying."

'I'm very happy here' - Flick says Barcelona will be 'my last job in football'

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It remains to be seen whether Trippier and Rashford could battle on the wing at Camp Nou, as they did in the league phase match in September.

Trippier said whether he is tasked with thwarting Rashford, or Barcelona's interchangable winger Raphinha, he can utilise his experience to quell their threat.

"Two different profiles of players, two quality players," Trippier said. "It is what it is. I’m old enough now to play against many good wingers in my career. I’ve been lucky enough to.

"I know both their profiles, I know their strengths, their weaknesses, so it’s good competition. These are the players you want to be playing against."

Trippier is relishing the occasion of the second leg and a return to the ground he visited multiple times as an Atletico player.

Having joined the club and sealed his return to the Premier League in January 2022, he said the fact Newcastle are vying for a spot in the Champions League quarter-finals with a tie at Barcelona shows how far they have progressed in a short time.

"When I first moved to Newcastle, who’d have thought four years later I’d have been in two [League Cup] finals, [qualifying for] the Champions League twice?

"I never would have thought that to be honest. But we’ve earned the right to be in the position we’re in, and how many more games will we have in the Champions League?"

'We'll have our plan' - Howe

Newcastle head coach Eddie Howe said Barcelona's high defensive line under Flick has been reined in slightly as the season has progressed and that his side have multiple ways of punishing the La Liga leaders.

Howe will be hoping to mastermind a similar performance to that which saw Internazionale ruthlessly expose Barcelona in last year's semi-finals, one which raised significant questions over Flick's aggressive approach.

Howe says Newcastle have more than just pace to punish Barcelona - 'We'll have our plan'

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"I don’t think their line is as high as it was maybe the first time we played them earlier in the season," Howe told TNT Sports. "They’ve adjusted as the season went on, it’s still quite high but I don’t think it’s as extreme as it was.

"The challenge for any team playing against that is how to expose it, how to counter that. Obviously it brings them weakness but also a big strength as well. We’ll have our plan, as we did in the first game. Of course it’s up to us to execute that as best as we can."

The obvious solution would appear to be utilising pace in wide areas through the likes of Anthony Gordon and Anthony Elanga. But Howe said his squad possesses more than one way to hurt teams.

"Pace is part of our DNA, we have some very athletic players who we always try to use, regardless of where we’re playing," he said. "Not getting obsessed with that is a massive point, there’s other strengths in our team."

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