Reports | Juventus make contact with Barcelona for Ivan Rakitic
Serie A champions Juventus have reportedly opened talks for signing Barcelona midfielder Ivan Rakitic, who has struggled for playing time this term due to the arrival of Frenkie de Jong. The Old Lady are said to be offering winger Federico Bernardeschi to Barcelona for the ex-Sevilla man.
Barcelona and Juventus have reportedly met and discussed a deal for Ivan Rakitic with the Italian giants very keen on a move for the Croatian but are not willing to offer any money for him. Instead, the Bianconeri are willing to send winger Federico Bernardeschi the other way in a deal that Barcelona are open to reports Gianluca Di Marzio. That is despite Juventus director of football, Fabio Paratici recently denied having any contact with the Blaugrana but admitted their admiration for Rakitic.
Barcelona were very keen to offload the ex-Sevilla man in the summer after the arrival of Frenkie de Jong from Ajax with then Barca coach, Ernesto Valverde was open to selling Rakitic despite using him in an extended role. However, with the midfielder now turning 31, the officers at Barcelona feel his prime years have passed and want to sell him in order to collect funds for other transfers. The Blaugrana tried to include Rakitic in the deal for Neymar as well and the Croatian also agreed to move to Paris, however, no move materialized in the end.
Initially, the Croatian was benched for several games but an injury to Arthur allowed Rakitic to regain his spot in the team. The 31-year-old has spent 5 years in Barcelona, playing 288 games and lifting many titles including four La Liga titles and one Champions League crown. Bernardeschi, on the other hand, has not been able to fit in Maurizio Sarri’s plans and is touted to leave Turin in the near future.
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