Barcelona FC player refused to come to Azerbaijan

Croatian football player Ivan Rakitić will not visit Baku on September 9 for a friendly match against Azerbaijan in the Euro-2020 qualifying round.

Report informs citing the Jutarnji List that Barcelona FC's midfielder has asked to be removed from the squad earlier because he is psychologically unprepared. He is now focusing on finding a new club. French PSG and Italian Juventus are interested in him.

Notably, Croatia will play against Slovakia on 6 September and Azerbaijan 3 days later.