Ivan Rakitic has left Barcelona to return to Sevilla.

Rakitic joined Barcelona from Sevilla in 2014.

Rakitic played 310 games for Barca in his six years there, winning 13 trophies, although his involvement was noticeably reduced last season.

Henrikh Mkhitaryan has joined AS Roma after terminating his contract with Arsenal.

Mkhitaryan joined Roma at the start of last season after a disappointing 18-month spell at Arsenal following a swap deal in January 2018 in which Alexis Sanchez went to Manchester United.

"Micki leaves us following his season-long loan in Italy. We have agreed to terminate his contract with us by mutual consent to allow him to join Roma in a permanent move," Arsenal said in a statement.

Josep Maria Bartomeu is requesting a meeting with Lionel Messi's father and agent, Jorge, and will present an extension offer through 2023.

The salary would be similar to what Messi currently earns, close to €100 million ($119 million) gross annually.

Barcelona is not optimistic Messi will sign the extension given his desire to leave the club.

Barcelona believes the only way Lionel Messi can legally leave the club for free is if he commits to not playing soccer next season.

Messi is attempting to exercise a clause in the contract he signed in 2017 that allows him to leave for free at the end of each season. The deadline for the clause was in June, but Messi believes it should be pushed back to the end of the season due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Reports in Spain over the weekend claimed Messi's €700 million buyout clause is no longer active, causing further confusion. Barcelona insists that is not the case.

Barcelona and Atletico Madrid discussed a possible swap of Antoine Griezmann and Joao Felix.

The idea was quickly dismissed with clubs blaming the other for initiating the conversation. 

Barcelona suggested the idea as Griezmann makes five times as much as Felix. 

The two clubs found themselves in precarious financial positions this summer, with Barcelona looking to bring in €70 million in player sales, and Atletico also needing to sell before strengthening their squad.

Griezmann's camp remain confident that he will find his best form in his second season at Camp Nou.

Manchester City have become confident Lionel Messi would snub any other club's effort to sign him. Paris Saint-Germain have also expressed interest in signing Messi with Neymar speaking to him this week.

Sources have told ESPN that Messi has requested a meeting with the Barca board to facilitate his exit.

There is still no agreement between City and Messi, but the club speak almost daily with his father, Jorge, and are working on a number of possible formulas.

City know the option of signing Messi for free is remote. City would be willing to pay between €100 million and €150 million for Messi, which is substantially less than his €700 million buyout clause. 

Jurgen Klopp ruled out the possibility of Liverpool signing Lionel Messi.

When asked at a news conference whether he would be interested in signing Messi, Klopp replied: "Interest? Yeah, who doesn't want Messi in their team.

"But no chance. The numbers are absolutely not for us. But....good player. It would make it even more difficult to beat them [Manchester City].

"For the Premier League, it would be great. I would like to see it but I'm not sure if I will."

Thiago Silva has signed a one-year deal with Chelsea after leaving Paris Saint-Germain on a free transfer.

"I am so happy to be joining Chelsea," Silva said. "I am delighted to be a part of Frank Lampard's exciting squad for next season and I'm here to challenge for honors.

"See you soon Chelsea fans, I look forward to playing at Stamford Bridge very soon."

helsea director Marina Granovskaia said: "We are delighted to be able to add a player of Thiago Silva's proven world-class credentials to our squad.

"Having performed at the highest level for many years, we have no doubt his experience and quality will complement the many exciting talents we already have here. Thiago will be an excellent fit and we hope he can add some new trophies to his impressive list of honors."

Thiago, 35, believes he has three or four years of top European soccer left.

Neymar has spoke with Lionel Messi over the phone on Thursday about the possibility of reuniting as teammates with Paris Saint-Germain.

PSG are closely monitoring the situation but have yet to make an offer or contact with Messi's father, Jorge, who is also his agent.

Neymar joined PSG from Barca in 2017 on a record €222 million transfer but has remained close with Messi.

PSG midfielder Angel Di Maria, Messi's close friend and teammate on the Argentina national team, has also spoken to Messi.

Josep Maria Bartomeu is prepared to step down as Barcelona president if Lionel Messi withdraws his request to leave the club.

Various sources insist Messi's decision is firm, so they believe Bartomeu will not need to act out any pledge to quit. Bartomeu does not want to fast-track elections, currently scheduled for March, and would instead prefer to leave the club in the hands of the current board of directors.

Barcelona continues to maintain that Messi is not for sale and can't leave the club this summer.