Catalan giants Barcelona plan to move on from a number of their veteran players after a disappointing 2019/20 season, and it appears that Croatian midfielder Ivan Rakitic will lead the way.
According to ESPN, Rakitic agreed to depart Camp Nou after being deemed surplus by new manager Ronald Koeman and is now set to re-join La Liga side Sevilla. The 32-year-old player is expected to ink a two-year deal that comes with a club option for 2022/23 season.
In order to facilitate the move, Rakitic reportedly agreed to take a significant pay cut and will earn $3.6 million at Ramon Sanchez-Pizjuan Stadium. His contract with Barca paid him $9.6 million annually.
Ivan Rakitic previously spent four seasons with Sevilla, helping the club win the Europa League. He scored 34 goals in 149 matches before departing for Barcelona in 2014.
With Barca, Rakitic continued winning trophies and was a key member of the team that won four La Ligas and one UEFA Champions League. However, Koeman didn’t see him as part of his future plans and was willing to let him walk.
