Atletico Madrid want to sign Ivan Rakitic from Barcelona at the end of the season

It looks like Barcelona ace Ivan Rakitic is ready to switch sides. He has fallen down in the pecking order for the defending LaLiga champions. As reported by Cadena SER, Atletico Madrid are interested in signing the 31-year-old Croatian and are already in talks with Barcelona. Ivan Rakitic has a contract with Barcelona till 2021. However, he can leave the Catalans at the end of the season. Ivan Rakitic has not been the first choice player for Barcelona this season. 

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Ivan Rakitic demands more playing time

Ivan Rakitic, in a post-match interview, expressed that he had made up his mind to leave Barcelona during the winter transfer window. He was not happy with the way he was being treated by Valverde's staff. However, Quique Setién replaced Valverde earlier last month and things have been different for Ivan Rakitic since then. Ivan Rakitic was named in Barcelona's playing XI in their LaLiga clash against Levante. That said, one can not guarantee his spot in the team from next season. 

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Should Diego Simeone get rid of his old tactics?

It's time to say it out loud. Atletico Madrid are in shambles. Diego Simeone has been getting away for all these years simply because of Atletico Madrid's LaLiga triumph in the 2013-14 season. The former Atletico Madrid player was hailed as one of the best managers in the world after he finally broke Barcelona-Real Madrid's dominance in LaLiga. But since then, he hasn't achieved any major trophy in particular. To be fair to him, he did win the Europa League in 2017-18.

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Recently, they broke their bank after signing Joao Felix for £113 million. It was their all-time record signing. However, even the signing of big players like Felix, Morata and Costa hasn't affected Atletico Madrid's form. They are currently on the sixth spot of the LaLiga 2019-20 table. They lost the Spanish Super Cup finals against Real Madrid. They are already out of the Copa Del Rey competition. Atleti will face Liverpool in their Champions League Round of 16 clash and that's going to be one hell of a challenge for them.

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