Barcelona will sit down with Seville and discuss a transfer back to Estadio Ramón Sánchez-Pizjuán to take Ivan Rakitić as a midfielder.
Rakitić left Seville back in 2014 as one of La Liga ‘s finest stars, but after a few promising seasons at Camp Nou, Croatia International is no longer a vital member of Quique Setién ‘s side. His contract is set to expire in 2021, and Sport notes that Barça does not plan to renew him, so they’re willing to let him go this summer so he can walk free. They had hoped that by selling Rakitić they would gain € 20 million, but there is an agreement that no one will pay for that for an aging midfielder with just one year left on his contract.
Seville is at the front of the line this summer for Rakitić ‘s signature and the midfielder himself is keen to return and finish his career with the club-but only if they signed him on a free transfer will they be able to afford his salary and sign-on fees.
The 32-year-old is likely to see the final year of his contract and leave on a cheap one, at which point Barcelona will pay him another lot of his €7.8 m annual salary, and La Blaugrana will be able to lower their demands and seek to reach an agreement this summer.
It seems extremely unlikely that Barça would decide to let Rakitić go for free, but the idea of lowering their asking price to stop paying the huge salary makes more sense for a club that is trying to save money. Talks about Rakitić ‘s future were put on hold until August after the Champions League was closed to ensure he remained focused on helping Barça secure at least one trophy this season. Having already offloaded Arthur from Juventus in exchange for Miralem Pjanić, Barcelona is keen to restructure its midfield further.
Young Riqui Puig is expected to gain more minutes next season after having impressed after La Liga ‘s return, and when you add the return from injury of Pjanić and Frenkie de Jong, it’s no wonder there may not be a position for Rakitić of move forward.
