Barcelona coach Ernesto Valverde has reiterated his desire to keep his best players and win games amid speculation linking Ivan Rakitic with an exit.
As per Sport, it’s been suggested that Paris Saint-Germain could potentially offer up to €90m to prise the 30-year-old away from the Nou Camp ahead of the transfer deadline for the rest of Europe next Friday.
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Rakitic has established himself as an influential figure for Barcelona since arriving from Sevilla in 2014, making over 50 appearances in each campaign with the Catalan giants.
In turn, losing him would undoubtedly be a blow for Valverde, especially having already been forced to address the losses of Andres Iniesta and Paulinho this summer with Arthur and Arturo Vidal arriving to fill the voids.
However, the Spanish tactician has essentially revealed that he has no interest in seeing the World Cup finalist leave as he wants to keep the best players at the club and is focused on winning games rather than negotiations over late transfer deals.
“Ivan is fundamental for our team, his numbers are there and we all understand his importance in the team. We have him and I hope without a doubt it will continue to be that way,” he said in his press conference, as quoted by Sport.
“I am the coach and I want the best players, Rakitic is one of the best, involved with the team, the club, we are not here to do business over players, we are here to win games.”
That would suggest that Valverde will either look to block any potential exit or will be left disappointed should a departure materialise, as he will be hoping to build on last season’s domestic double and continue to dominate with this current group as they also target the Champions League.
Rakitic continues to showcase his quality and importance, but with seven days remaining in the transfer window, it remains to be seen if PSG can indeed prise him away with a huge offer as touted by Sport.