TV3: Barça and Juventus negotiated Rakitic-Douglas Costa swap
The Catalan club wanted to add more pace to their attack in Januray
Ivan Rakitic is on the exit ramp again. The Croatian midfielder looks set to be one of the Barcelona players that moves on this summer after coming close to leaving in recent years.
Last summer, Rakitic was one of the players Barça looked to sell to bring in more revenue. The ex-Sevilla man has a good reputation in Europe and big clubs have shown an interest in him.
Paris Saint-Germain and Juventus have been among the front runners in the past but he Rakitic wanted to stay at Barcelona.
After starting the season out of Ernesto Valverde's plans, he earned his place back in the side but was still linked with a move away from the club in January.
This time, Douglas Costa was also involved. As Barça looked to cover Luis Suarez's injury, they discussed a possible swap deal with Juve involving Rakitic and the Brazilian forward.
The operation didn't come off but everything suggests it will be on the table again in the summer. Atletico, PSG and Sevilla are other offers that Rakitic has on the table if he leaves. His contract runs until 2021.
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