Out of the blue came rumours of Juventus approaching Barcelona, hoping they can land a deal for the 31-year-old Croatian midfielder, Ivan Rakitic. Rumours suggested Rakitic was at the exit doors of his club, however, the deal reportedly took a sudden turn, with Barcelona refusing to let their star midfielder go.
BILBAO, SPAIN – AUGUST 16: Ivan Rakitic of FC Barcelona during the La Liga Santander match between Athletic de Bilbao v FC Barcelona at the Estadio San Mames on August 16, 2019 in Bilbao Spain (Photo by David S. Bustamante/Soccrates/Getty Images)
When we talk about best midfielders in the world, it’s hard to ignore the brilliance of the 31-year-old Croat, who needs no special introduction. Having proven himself year after year, Rakitic has become one of the most sought after midfielders for any top European club. Nonetheless, he seemed happy with the Catalan outfit, where he arrived in 2014 from Sevilla who sold him for mere €18 million. Since arriving at Barcelona, Rakitic’s value as a player only grew, and he did not need long to become widely regarded as one of the best midfielders in the world. Having won a Champions League title, four Spanish champions titles, four Spanish cups, three super cups on top of two UEFA super cups, Rakitic also became one of the best Croatian footballers in history, only overshadowed by his LaLiga rival and Croatian national team captain, Luka Modric.
Having spent five long successful years with the club, Rakitic slowly fell out of favour with the team who reportedly revealed will look to offload the Croat ahead of 2019/20 season given the Catalans’ abundance in the midfield and the club’s necessity to raise funds to finance their summer’s transfers. While it’s no secret the Catalan boss, Ernesto Valverde was and always will be a huge fan of the veteran midfielder, he hinted Rakitic could leave Barcelona this summer, by stating “Rakitic has been an important player, I don’t know if he will be this season. New players are coming and he will have to win his place,” after Barcelona’s friendly fixture against Chelsea in late July.
During the summer Rakitic got linked with a move to PSG, Manchester United and even Juventus, with the Italian champions emerging the most likely to land the Croat veteran. Recent reports even suggested Rakitic unofficially already made a deal with Juventus, however, it was confirmed later this week he will not be moving away from the Catalan club this summer, but instead, stay at LaLiga champions for yet another season.
Furthermore, it is also rumoured that Rakitic was never close to leaving his club, which might not be far from the truth considering he expressed numerous times before about his desire to continue his football career at Barcelona where he is happy. While there are still some concerns regarding Rakitic’s playtime in Barcelona with the arrival of Frenkie de Jong, improvement of Arthur and the arrival of Carles Alena, the Croat midfielder has proven he is way too important of a player for Barcelona to let him go. How long will Rakitic remain at Barcelona, who clearly have enough players occupying the midfield positions, is yet to be seen, nonetheless, until he can continue to be one of the key players for Barca, there will always be room for him in the squad.
