Valverde leaves his mark in Rakitic case

It seems that common sense prevailed in the Ivan Rakitic case. At moments, his future was not clear. Paris Saint-Germain made their move and tempted him with a double-your-wages offer which was difficult to reject. Until Ernesto Valverde intervened. The Barcelona coach warned in his press conference last Friday: "We're not here to do business, we're here to win." Given his usual prudence, it was an unusually forthright comment. 

These comments were a message to the board. Some of the members of said board were advocates for the deal because they thought it would be good business, believing it would have benefits on the club's accounts. But no. The office's dreams went up in smokes after Valverde's fundamental intervnetion to stop Rakitic leaving. There is no one better than the former Athletic coach to know the importance the Croatian has in his side and he was not prepared for one of his pillars to go. Valverde's shown a lot of confidence in Rakitic, even more than Luis Enrique, one of his biggest fans. In fact, last season, no other player, not even Lionel Messi, played more games for Barça than the blonde midfielder. 

His age (he will turn 31 this season) and the 90 million euros on the table from PSG did not tempt Valverde, who is only focused on winning titles. After the debacle in Rome last season and the new signings he has blessed (Arturo Vidal and Lenglet), Valverde is not ready to lose players, especially not players of Rakitic's caliber. It's a decision that, on a sporting level, is the right one and could be vital this season.