Ivan Rakitic states that he wants to stay at Barcelona

Barcelona have decided against extending Ivan Rakitic’s contract.

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Ivan Rakitic is 32 years old and has a contract which keeps him at Barcelona till the summer of 2021. The Spanish giants have no plans to extend the Croatian midfielder’s contract even though the player has showcased outstanding form and has been able to maintain great levels of fitness. This is because the club wants to establish a younger team over the next few seasons.

In the last few weeks, there have been rumours that the Spanish giants are planning to include Rakitic in a swap deal in order to attain the clubs transfer targets at a cheaper rate. The Croatian international has an estimated market value of 25 million euros and is linked with a move to Inter Milan and Juventus as stated by the Goal.

Rakitic claims that he is happy in Barca.

The Croatian international has stated that he is grateful to play at the Camp Nou and that he and his wife are comfortable in Barcelona, the midfielder doesn’t want to look too far ahead and is focusing on completing his contract with the Spanish giants. However, Rakitic is has not ruled out negotiating a transfer deal with other clubs in the near future.

Quique Setien must try and sell the Croatian superstar over the summer transfer window if the club hopes to make a sufficient amount of money from the sale of their experienced midfielder. The Spanish giants could potentially consider listing their midfielder on a loan deal with a buyout clause similar to the deal that Philippe Coutinho had with Bayern Munich to attract more clubs to show interest to sign Rakitic.

This loan deal might draw interest from clubs such as Sevilla who have been extremely interested in Rakitic but have struggled to allocate sufficient funds to sign the midfielder.

What do you think Barca should do with Ivan Rakitic?