Football
ESPN staff 7y

Ivan Rakitic signs new contract with Barcelona until 2021 with huge buyout

Ivan Rakitic signed a new contract with Barcelona on Thursday, tying him to the Catalan giants until 2021.

The deal includes a buyout clause set at €125 million, which may help quiet reports linking him with a move to Manchester City this summer.

And though his previous deal was set to run out in 2019, the Croatia international midfielder confirmed in January he had no plans to leave the Camp Nou, saying then: "I want to sit down with the club because I want to renew my contract and stay here for many years."

Rakitic has scored six goals in all competitions this season, his third at Barcelona since moving from Sevilla in 2014.

The 28-year-old has been in and out of the Barcelona side recently, and his lack of minutes and increased competition from Andre Gomes, Denis Suarez and Rafinha fuelled speculation he could join City.

He did not start a league game between Dec. 3 and Jan. 22, but has since started in six of Barca's past eight games in La Liga. Manager Luis Enrique also gave him the start in Tuesday's dramatic Champions League triumph over PSG.

The new contract follows those given to Javier Mascherano, Sergio Busquets, Neymar and Luis Suarez during this season.

Sporting director Robert Fernandez said in January that talks to extend Lionel Messi's contract were going "really well," and Neymar said that "Messi will renew, for sure."

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