Valverde gives Rakitic a hand as Barça midfielder chases new deal at club
The coach would like the Croatian to stick around next season
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Ivan Rakitic's future is not clear. The midfielder has a contract until June 2021 and is still waiting for a contract improvement from Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu.
On the pitch, he remains a key part of Ernesto Valverde's side. So much so that the Barça coach played an important role in keeping him at Camp Nou last summer when Paris Saint-Germain came calling.
Valverde, who signed his own contract renewal on Friday, hopes to keep Rakitic on board while he is in charge.
But it doesn't depend exclusively on him, which is why he said in his pre-Real Valladolid press conference that "the club will take the steps they have to take to have the best team. Rakitic is an important players for us, like everyone we have here."
While he wasn't explicitly direct, Valverde was clearly asking for an effort to be made to keep Rakitic. "We will see, but the club know what steps they have to take," he added.
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