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Barcelona are hoping to make a big sale preferably this June, Sport report, and Ivan Rakitić is the man of the hour. Manchester United are seemingly testing the waters for the Croatian's potential transfer this summer and have recently asked about his availability.

The midfielder was close to an exit last year, the same source claim, when he was on the doorstep of Paris Saint-Germain, but he stayed for another season in the end. The Red Devils could need a new midfielder with Pogba being heavily targeted by Real Madrid, but Rakitić should not really be on their radar.

Here are two reasons why Manchester United would be wasting their time and money chasing the Croatian...

Rakitić is way past his prime

Even though Rakitić's contribution to Barcelona can hardly be questioned, he is slowly getting on with his career. The Croatian is already 31 and should not really be a priority for a club in a rebuild process. Just the fact that the Catalan giants are open to selling him if a good offer arrives means they can live without him and are ready to earn something while they still can.

All of this is placed even more into question when the possible departure of Pogba is put on the table with United's French superstar heavily linked with a move to Real Madrid. If that deal goes through and the Red Devils are left without their star in the middle of the park, replacing him with an ageing 31-year-old would just be throwing money into the wind. It might gloss over the loss of Pogba for a year or so, but United will need to replace Rakitic as well in a couple of summers.

The deal is not worth it

It will reportedly take a "huge financial effort" for United to sign Rakitic. Considering the high wages the midfielder will likely want as well, as this could be the last major contract of his career, this deal could easily prove to be too costly for the Premier League outfit.

Rakitić himself already stated on numerous occasions that he indeed wants to stay so a fair amount of convincing could also be needed for the deal to go through, which may well end up taking the form of an even more lucrative offer. It also suggests a deal won't be wrapped up quickly, even if Barcelona do want to sell in June, and the last thing United need is long and protracted sagas with players who aren't jumping at the chance to join the club.

Is it all really worth it for a declining 31-year-old?