Manchester City may have to look at alternative targets following the latest comments from Barcelona manager Luis Enrique surrounding transfer target midfielder Ivan Rakitic.

Rakitic has been tipped with a move to replace Ilkay Gundogan, who will not feature again for City this season, and bolster a midfield that contains Yaya Toure, believed to be on his way out of the club at the end of the season, and the erratic Fernandinho.

The Croatia international was left out of the Barcelona squad on Sunday, a match in which they ended up needing a late equaliser from Lionel Messi to earn a draw, which increased talk of his impending exit from the Nou Camp.

‘It’s up to me to decide the squads and the teams. That’s my job,’ said Enrique, reports the Independent.

‘What’s been published has nothing to do with that. Only 25 per cent of things are true, be it in the Croatian, Spanish, England, Italian media.’