Barcelona player saw situation ‘so badly’ that he asked for deadline day exit

The Neymar saga caused plenty of waves this summer, with more than just the Brazilian caught up in the whole affair.

One such man was Ivan Rakitic, who through no fault of his own, found himself a part of the potential deal to bring the Brazilian back to Barcelona.

Barça showed no hesitation in including the Croatian as part of the payment for the Brazilian, presumably because they have Frenkie de Jong to replace him.

Little was said at the time about how Rakitić viewed the whole process, but Mundo Deportivo claim he was less than happy by how things unfolded.

He wanted to stay and, according to the newspaper, the situation has ‘hurt’ the 31-year-old, who was presumably questioning why Barcelona were so happy to get rid despite him providing four years of excellent service so far.

Indeed, Rakitić saw the situation ‘so badly’ that at the last moment on deadline day he requested a transfer to Juventus, although it was never a serious option.

Instead, Neymar never returned, Rakitić stayed, and Ernesto Valverde now has to try and repair the relationship, with Mundo believing the Barcelona manager will have to ‘recover him emotionally’.