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What's the rumour?
In an exclusive interview with Spanish radio-station, Onda Cero, FC Barcelona's president, Josep Maria Bartomeu that the club wouldn't be offering a new contract to their star midfielder Ivan Rakitic any time soon.
The Croatian central-midfielder wanted to sign an improved deal with higher wages and a longer tenure with the Spanish giants. However, Bartomeu has rejected any chances of this deal stating that the club isn't in a good financial situation to offer a better contract at the moment.
According to English outlet, TalkSPORT, Chelsea are one of the four clubs who would be willing to lure the midfielder to their club offering him a better contract. Manchester United, Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain are amongst the other clubs who would be willing to sign the Croatian international.
In case you didn't know...
Since joining from Sevilla in 2014, Ivan Rakitic has been a prolific player for the FC Barcelona squad. He has been an undisputed starter for the Blaugrana over the years.
The attacking midfielder has scored 30 goals and provided 29 assists for the Catalan powerhouse.
The Croatian midfielder was expected to leave for PSG in the past summer transfer window. However, the move didn't materialize as it was expected that Barcelona would be offering him a new contract soon.
The heart of the matter
Ivan Rakitic has a contract with Barcelona until 2021. His release clause is around 125 million Euros. However, Barcelona would be willing to let go of their 30-year-old star midfielder for anything around 70 million euros.
One of the top destinations for the Croatian is Chelsea FC. The Blues are having a fantastic time under the new manager, Maurizio Sarri. The arrival of Rakitic would do wonders for their midfield as he would be pairing up with national-teammate, Mateo Kovacic.
N'Golo Kante, Jorginho, and Ivan Rakitic would make a great midfield. The transfer might take place in January if the Blues reach a final decision in the meantime.
Rumour rating: 7/10
The above-mentioned source might prove to be reliable as Chelsea wouldn't miss a chance to sign the star midfielder. On the other hand, Barcelona wouldn't hesitate to sell their 30-year-old central midfielder if a hefty amount is offered.
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What's next?
It remains to see which of the European powerhouses lures the Croatian home. However, Chelsea remains to be the most appropriate destination for the attacking midfielder.
