Ivan Rakitic Eager To Extend His Contract At Barcelona Despite Frankie De Jong Signing

Barcelona midfielder Ivan Rakitic has insisted that he is very happy in the city and that his intention is, if there’s an agreement with the club, to renew his contract, although if he’s at the club “it’s to play.”

Ivan Rakitic spoke at the annual ‘Mundo Deportivo’ gala, where he was rewarded for reaching the World Cup final.

After the signing of Frenkie de Jong from Ajax last week it’s been suggested that Rakitic is one of the players who could be solved.

“If I am here [at Barcelona], it’s to play. If anything has to change, we will speak. I have a lot of confidence. I know what I can give. I know who I am,” he said.

“I want to be here and, if I can renew, to be here for even more years. I am really happy here, everyone knows it, above all the ‘Presi’. I have nothing else to say.”

Asked directly if De Jong’s arrival could force him out, he added: “That’s a good question for the ‘Mister’ or the ‘Presi.’ I am 30 and I am in the best moment of my career. I want to enjoy football and enjoy Barça.”

Finally, the Croatian spoke about Barcelona’s upcoming Copa del Rey clash against Sevilla, where the blaugrana trail 0-2 from the first leg: “We want to win. We know that it’s going to be very complicated after the result in Sevilla. It will be very special playing against ‘my guys,’ to say it a certain way, but we already came back in the tie against Levante, and we want to do the same now to stay in the cup.”