Barça dedicates an emotional message to Ivan Rakitic for his retirement

FC Barcelona said goodbye to Ivan Rakitic this Monday, after the 37-year-old player announced his professional retirement. Through a video shared on their social networks, the Blaugrana team dedicated a nice message to the Croatian, a 'culé' player between 2014 and 2020.

"Football will miss you, Ivan. We wish you the best in this new stage of your life", wrote Barça next to a photograph with the 15 official trophies he won during his time with the Catalan team.

This is how Barça said goodbye to Ivan Rakitic, a key player in Luis Enrique's team

In addition, the club published a minute and a half video with the most outstanding moments of Rakitic in Barcelona, from his presentation and the lifting of the treble in 2015, where he was a key player even scoring one of the goals in the Champions League final against Juventus (3-1), until his last official goal with the Blaugrana shirt in 2020. 

In total, the player from Möhlin played 311 official matches in which he scored 36 goals, in addition to providing 42 assists over six seasons. In Barcelona, he wore the number '4' and completed a fantastic midfield alongside Sergio Busquets and Iniesta, taking over from Xavi Hernández.

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In 2020 he returned to Sevilla, where he spent three more seasons until leaving for Saudi Arabia in 2023. During his time at Al-Shabab he only played 8 matches and, finally, in 24/25 he returned to his country with Hajduk Split.

With his national team, Rakitic played 106 official matches, although he formally retired at international level in 2019, a year after reaching the runner-up position in the World Cup in Russia. The midfielder played in the European Championships of 2008, 2012 and 2016, as well as two World Cups (2014 and 2018). 

Rakitic will now begin his career in the offices

To announce his retirement, Ivan published a message on his social networks where he thanked all the clubs where he had the opportunity to play. "Then came Barça (...). I played with the best. I lifted trophies. I lived magical nights at the Camp Nou. You gave me the privilege of being part of your history", says part of the statement published by the former 'culé' player.

Now, Rakitic will remain linked to the world of football, but through the offices. The Croatian will be part of the board of directors of Hajduk Split, where he played 39 matches in his last season as a professional footballer.

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