Inter Milan fail to agree terms with Barcelona over Rafinha loan move

KEY POINTS

Rafinha made his first appearance of the season during Barcelona's loss to Espanyol on Wednesday, 17 January.
Inter are keen to sign the midfielder in January, but cannot meet Barcelona's demands at the moment.

Barcelona midfielder Rafinha's hopes of completing a move to Inter Milan has been put on hold after the two clubs failed to agree a deal despite extensive talks in the last few days.

The Serie A club's sporting director Piero Ausilio is said to have been in the Catalan capital to hold talks with his Barcelona counterparts, but has returned to Italy empty-handed after the two clubs could not come to an agreement.

According to Spanish publication Sport, Barcelona and Inter Milan have agreed that it will be a loan deal until the end of the campaign, but the La Liga side want to insert a clause that makes the Italian giants obligated to make the deal permanent, which they are unable to agree to at the moment.

Barcelona are demanding an obligatory €40m buyout clause at the end of the loan spell, while Inter want it to be an option to buy for €35m at the end of the season. The two clubs are hoping to reach a compromise before the end of the transfer window, but the report claims that Uefa's Financial Fair Play regulations (FFP) are holding Inter back from signing a deal that makes it obligatory for them to sign the midfielder in the summer.

Rafinha is keen to move to Italy as he wants to play on a regular basis – something that is not guaranteed at Barcelona. The Brazil international has agreed terms with Inter and is only waiting for the two clubs to finalise a deal.

The 24-year-old made his first appearance of the campaign during Barcelona's 1-0 loss to Espanyol in the first leg of the Copa del Rey quarter-finals on Wednesday, 17 January. The Brazilian midfielder came on for the final 12 minutes in place of Denis Suarez, but Rafinha is unlikely to get too many opportunities when the likes of Andre Gomes and Ivan Rakitic, who were on the bench, are back in the starting eleven.

Barcelona have thus far completed three deals in January – Philippe Coutinho and Yerry Mina have arrived from Liverpool and Palmeiras, respectively, while Arda Turan has departed for Turkish outfit Istanbul Basaksehir.