Rakitic asks to stay

The rumours place Rakitic away from Barcelona due to the fact that Barca are looking for and making room for a striker to replace the injured Luis Suárez. One of the deals involved Bernardeschi, but Juventus aren't going to yield.

Barcelona offered the CM plus 10 million euros to the Italian outfit and this possibility isn't going to happen, so the chances of Rakitic's exit have reduced considerably. According to 'Sport', the Croat has expressed to the Barca board that his intention is to stay in order to force his way into the team after ending the year as an important player for Ernesto Valverde.

Another of the alternatives being discussed is that Rakitic could go to Juventus, but as long as Emre Can leaves the club. Borussia Dortmund are interested in the Juventus player.

In any case, Rakitic prefers to stay at Barcelona for the 2nd half of the season and analyse what Setién needs from him in the summer and decide whether to move or not.