PSG, Monaco pursue €125m Rakitic, Barça stonewall move
No, it’s not former flames Manchester United and Juventus, who were known to be interested in the Croatian international in recent years.
No, according to Mundo Deportivo the main love is coming from France, where Paris Saint-Germain and Monaco like the World Cup finalist.
Trouble is, Barcelona have immediately stonewalled any talk of a departure: to them, the 30-year-old is an indispensable piece of their midfield, and will only leave for his €125 million release clause.
PSG have been looking for a midfielder to anchor their midfield, as Thiago Motta retired from playing and Adrien Rabiot doesn’t want to play in a purely defensive role.
Rakitic could be that guy, but he was Ernesto Valverde’s most-used player last season, as Barça Blaugranes remind us.
Nabbing Rakitic would be a big move, but Barcelona don’t want to lose him, especially now that their attempt at stealing Paul Pogba looks doomed to fail.