Manchester City 'not planning to bid for Barcelona midfielder Ivan Rakitic'

Manchester City reportedly have no intention of making a move for Barcelona midfielder Ivan Rakitic, despite rumours suggesting otherwise.

Questions arose over the 28-year-old's future at Camp Nou when head coach Luis Enrique left him out of the squad that drew 1-1 with Villarreal on Sunday.

Reports in the midfielder's homeland Croatia claimed that Pep Guardiola is considering bringing the player to the Etihad Stadium in a surprise move this month.

However, according to Sky Sports News, those reports are way off the mark as the two-time Premier League champions will not be making an offer.

Enrique also seemed to rubbish the speculation, telling reporters: "It's up to me to decide the squads and the teams. That's my job. What's been published has nothing to do with that. Only 25 per cent of things are true, be it in the Croatian, Spanish, England, Italian media."

Rakitic, whose contract expires in 2019, has scored 20 goals in 129 appearances since signing for Barcelona in 2014.