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Evening Standard
Evening Standard
Sport
tom dutton

Ivan Rakitic plans to run down Barcelona contract amid Man Utd transfer links

Ivan Rakitic plans to see out his contract at Barcelona.

Rakitic's current contract runs until 2021 and Barca are keen to cash in on the 32-year-old, who is no longer assured of a place in the starting XI.

Barcelona are ready to sell midfielder him for €20 million this summer, with Sevilla and Atletico Madrid are monitoring Rakitic's situation.

Juventus were sniffing around Rakitic in January, while Inter Milan and Manchester United have also been linked, but the Croatia international wants to stay in Spain.

Rakitic told Sky in Germany: "I’ve got used to it [the speculation] a bit. I’ve been here six years now – so I’ve had six years of this sort of thing.

"I have to try to understand it, to remember that football is not just a sport. There is a bit more to it. ‘We know that, we have to try to understand it – you have a laugh about it sometimes.

"I’ve still got a contract, when I sign a contract, I always intend to fulfil it, and if that cannot happen for any reason, then we’ll sit down together and talk about it.

"But for the moment, I am very happy here and I am thinking about other stuff."

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