Rakitic: Barcelona turn down Premier League offer
According to reports in Catalonia, an English club has tabled a bid of €15m for the Croatia midfielder, but Barça are holding out for closer to €40m.
Barcelona have rejected an offer from a Premier League club for Ivan Rakitic, according to reports in Catalonia. The Croatia midfielder has been reduced to a bit-part role at Camp Nou this season, starting just one game in all competitions and failing to get off the bench in Barça’s last two Liga fixtures against Levante and Celta.
Atlético Madrid are apparently interested in taking Rakitic off Barça’s hands in January but there will be no shortage of offers for the 31-year-old and the Camp Nou board will weight them up with the January window approaching. What they will not do, according to Barcelona-based daily Sport, is accept 15 million euros for the midfielder. That is the fee Sport quote an unnamed Premier League club as having tabled but Barça are hopeful of pocketing more than double that for Rakitic and will not entertain bids of below the 35-million mark.
Juventus, Inter keen on loan deal for Rakitic
Barcelona were open to letting Rakitic leave last summer for around 40 million euros, a figure Atlético are willing to meet, but Juventus and Inter Milan have also been credited with an interest. However, the Serie A sides are hopeful of coming to a loan arrangement with a purchase option while Barça would prefer a permanent transfer for a player who has fallen out of fashion at Camp Nou with Arthur and Frenkie de Jong preferred in midfield by Ernesto Valverde.