Barcelona midfielder Ivan Rakitic has moved to silence talk over his future amid speculation of a potential exit this summer.
The 31-year-old has been with the Catalan giants for five years now, and such has been his importance and consistency in the side, he’s made 51 or more appearances in each campaign he’s been with the reigning La Liga champions.
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In turn, that speaks for itself in terms of how valuable he is to the team and to coach Ernesto Valverde, and so it would be a surprise to see Barcelona opt to move him on this summer.
Naturally though with Frenkie de Jong joining Barcelona from Ajax ahead of the new campaign, competition for places is ramping up further and so it remains to be seen if Rakitic is able to continue to play such a prominent role.
Nevertheless, based on his quotes on Monday, it’s fair to say that the Croatian stalwart has no intention of leaving Barcelona this summer.
“I have spoken with the club and the coach and the idea is the same. And my idea is to continue with Barça, I’m open, but my idea is very clear and my intention is to continue here and keep enjoying because I have years left on my contract,” he told the media in Japan, as per Mundo Deportivo.
“I will work hard, so you can count on me. You know me, I want to give the best of me and in the end it’s up to the coach. The important thing is that we are a strong group and we will go for everything.”
That’s a pretty emphatic answer from the midfield veteran, and given he still has another two years to run on his current contract with Barcelona, there doesn’t appear to be a major rush to agree on new terms.
Perhaps to avoid any issues further down the line though if he continues to edge closer to becoming a free agent, the Catalan giants will want to try and get that situation sorted out sooner rather than later.
