Italian Serie A giants Inter Milan are on course to beat the Premier League duo of Manchester United and Chelsea to the signing of experienced Barcelona midfielder Ivan Rakitic.
This is according to the publication from Italian media platform La Gazzetta dello Sport which claimed that the Nerazzurri are ready to pay as much as €90m to sign the Croatian World Cup star with an annual wage of €5m.
Ivan Rakitic was part of the 23-man Croatia squad that surprised many by reaching the final of the 2018 FIFA World Cup tournament in Russia last summer.
Rakitic and Croatia got to the final before they were dispatched by France via a 4-2 defeat.
Ex-Sevilla captain Rakitic has been in a contract dispute with Barcelona and that has prompted talks about his long-term future at the club.
His current deal expires in 2021 but the 30-year-old demanded a raise in his pay which was not granted by the Barcelona bosses.
Both Manchester United and Chelsea have been strongly linked with a summer swoop for the player who joined Spanish champions Barcelona in 2014.
Barcelona could be hoping to an exit with the recent signing of Frenkie De Jong from Ajax Amsterdam last month.
De Jong will link up with his new Barcelona teammates in the summer.