Reports | Ivan Rakitic and Luis Suarez set to leave as part of Barcelona’s purge
Barcelona replaced Quique Setien and appointed Ronald Koeman as their new manager
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Amidst rumours of a potential cull at Barcelona, the Guardian has reported that Ivan Rakitic and Luis Suarez are set to leave the club alongside Samuel Umtiti and Arturo Vidal. The four men are part of a much larger list as new manager Ronald Koeman looks to rebuild the squad this summer.
Ever since their shambolic loss to Bayern Munich in the Champions League quarter-finals, Barcelona have been going through a change at the club. They parted ways with manager Quique Setien and sporting director Eric Abidal for Ronald Koeman and a whole host of a new backroom staff. Not only that, but the club have also already started looking towards the future with them set to purge their ageing squad and add new blood over the next few months.
While the likes of Lionel Messi, Antoine Griezmann and a few others will play key roles, the Guardian has reported that Ivan Rakitic, Samuel Umtiti, Arturo Vidal and Luis Suarez are on their way out. The report has indicated that the four men have been told by Koeman that they’ve got no place at the club with them set to be sold or have their contracts rescinded. This is in an effort to not only refresh the squad but to help lower the wage bill which wasn’t affected by the €32 million salary cut that the players took during lockdown.
All two out of the four players have attracted interest from across Europe with Ajax and Sevilla interested in Suarez and Rakitic respectively. However, neither side is keen on paying a transfer fee which has seen Barcelona consider rescinding their contracts in an attempt to let them leave. Reports have also further indicated that there is a chance Sergio Busquets, Gerard Piqué and Jordi Alba will continue at the club despite them not being a part of the “untransferables” section.
