Barcelona To Offer Ivan Rakitic In Exchange For Liverpool’s Philippe Coutinho
REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach
Barcelona are ready to offer midfielder Ivan Rakitic in exchange for the services of Liverpool star Philippe Coutinho, according to reports in Spain.
Ivan Rakitic has come under fire for his consistently poor form so far in the current campaign, which has convinced the Catalan giants to part ways with the 28-year-old, if and when needed. And as per Spanish news outlet Don Balon, Barcelona now intend to make use of the Croatian midfielder, by offering him to Liverpool in exchange for Philippe Coutinho.
Coutinho has been a target of Barcelona for quite some time, despite the Brazilian having recently signed a long-term contract with the Merseyside outfit. But the La Liga giants are now believed to have gotten serious in their pursuit for the 24-year-old playmaker, and will make a concrete offer for him come summer.
Reuters / Eddie Keogh
The report suggests that the offer will not only consist of a swap deal involving Rakitic and Coutinho, but Barcelona will also include a sizeable fee in order to convince Reds’ boss Jurgen Klopp to accept the bid.
Furthermore, speculation linking the Brazil international with a move to Barcelona has only gotten stronger recently, due to the friendship between Coutinho and his fellow compatriot Neymar. In fact, the Liverpool ace himself heaped praises on the Barca star on Sunday, and further claimed how much he loved playing alongside the former Santos man.
Coutinho was recently quoted as saying (via ESPN): “Neymar is a outstanding as we can all see. He is a player that decides key games, a guy that is fundamental on our team. We have been together for a long time, since we played together at youth level. Playing next to him is easy, he can change the game easily. We give the ball to him and he solves the problem!”