Barcelona Chief Hints at Ivan Rakitic Contract Renewal Next Season With PL Giants Interested

Chelsea, Manchester City and Manchester United are all reportedly monitoring Ivan Rakitic's situation at Barcelona after the La Liga club's president revealed they may look to renew the Croatian's contract next season.

According to talkSPORT, Chelsea are among a host of clubs interested in the Croatian, with the two Manchester clubs also keeping an eye on the situation along with French giants Paris Saint-Germain.

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It's understood that Rakitic is looking for a considerable pay rise as well as an extension to his current contract which is due to run out in 2021. 

However, Barcelona president Josep Bartomeu has said that the Croatian will not be getting a new contract any time soon, leading to the interest in the player.

Bartomeu has explained his reasoning as being finance related, in an interview with Onda Cero as quoted by talkSPORT he said: “For this campaign, we will not be able to go through with the gesture that Rakitic is asking of us. Next season we can look at it in relation to our new revenue.”

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The interest from some of Europe's top clubs suggests that Barca would be making a big mistake by not agreeing a new contract with Rakitic, who starred for Croatia during the 2018 World Cup as they reached the final, ultimately losing to France.

Rakitic moved to the Catalan club from Sevilla in 2014 and has since become a mainstay in Barca's midfield, something that isn't to be sniffed at given the glut of talent the club have had in that area in recent times.