Barcelona midfielder Ivan Rakitic could be one of the biggest names involved in the transfer market this summer. Croatian international Rakitic has expressed his desire to remain at Barça but he would also like an improved contract. Meanwhile, he’s become one of the most wanted men on the continent, with plenty of interest from the Premier League and Serie A.
If a few days ago we revealed the interest of Chelsea and earlier this week reports in England added Manchester United’s name to the list, in Italy on Friday there’s lots of talk about Rakitic. Various outlets are reporting strong interest from Inter Milan, while others report that Juventus and AC Milan will also make moves.
Also, Barcelona have announced that coach Ernesto Valverde has renewed his contract until the end of the 2019-20 season with the option of an additional year. The Catalan club confirmed the news on Friday morning and Valverde will speak at a press conference later in the day ahead of Saturday’s match against Real Valladolid.
The club said: “FC Barcelona and Ernesto Valverde, the first team coach, have reached an agreement to extend the contract between the two parties for another season (2019/20) with the option for one more (2020/21).” Remember that Josep Maria Bartomeu had said he wanted the coach to continue in an interview with SPORT. Valverde is in his second season in charge at Camp Nou. In his first year, he won a league and cup double, only losing one game in La Liga.
However, the campaign was tainted by a Champions League exit against Roma, despite winning the first leg 4-1 at home. Valverde, who turned 55 last week, has been in charge of Barça for 96 official matches now.