At the age of 32, Rakitic's career in Barcelona seems to have come to an end, in order to pursue Pjanic, the team plans to use him as a chip to seek a trade with Juventus, this player born in the fires of war, never got the courtesy of a superstar, except for the 2013-14 season of his career, and the 2018 World Cup in Russia, the world rarely remembers his name, in the club and national team, he played the role of a sapper around Messi and Modric, The bright aura of the two stars makes the low-key and practical Rakitic always slightly eclipsed, but in the hearts of people who really know Rakitic, he is the same as top athletes such as Ronaldo, James, and Kobe, writing his own legend with talent and diligence!
There is a story about Rakitic, which needs to be traced back to more than 30 years ago, father Luka Rakitic came to Switzerland with his wife in order to escape the war in Croatia, settled in an ordinary town called Maureen, under the introduction of friends, the old Luca played for a local team to support his family, although the personal level far exceeded that team, but for the sake of a stable life and family, the old Luca finally chose to stay. Ivan Rakitic was born in 1988, thanks to his father's excellent football genes, the young Rakitic performed far beyond his peers, but in Switzerland, football has never been the most concerned thing, at least after the bank, saber, ski and watch industries, from teenagers to professions, there has never been a scout who has linked Rakitic to genius, and more evaluation is only diligence, sincerity and seriousness.
Born in Switzerland to give Rakitic dual citizenship, whether to represent Switzerland or Croatia as an adult has become the most important choice in his life, facing the country where he grew up, and still suffering from strategic invasion of the distant homeland, Rakitic fell into contemplation, after a struggle, he decided to choose the red and white plaid jersey and Slavin Bilic, but at this time Rakitic wanted to make a joke with his father, he told his father that he decided to represent Switzerland, although his father was very happy, But there was a flash of loneliness in his eyes, until he gave his father a big hug, and then officially told his father that what he really chose was Croatia, at this time, the old Luca embraced his son with tears in his eyes, leaving the homeland for decades, no one missed that land more than him, that is, from this moment on, Croatia entered a new history.
Rakitic's career began at Basel, and what really brought him into the eyes of fans was after joining La Liga side Sevilla, after three seasons of idle work in Schalke 04, Rakitic joined the Bulls of the South Sevilla in 2011 with a transfer fee of 2.5 million euros, and opened a new chapter in his career from here. In his first season with Sevilla, Rakitic contributed seven assists, but his performance was not impressive, and in the 2012-13 season, Rakitic ushered in the first season of his career, this season he contributed 11 goals and 11 assists to the team, in terms of average key passes per game and create excellent opportunities, he was the best candidate in la Liga, but unfortunately in the second half of the league, the team's performance fell off a cliff, and finally only ranked 7th.
By the 2013-14 season, Rakitic had gone even further, contributing another 11 goals and 10 assists in the league, becoming the most offensive right winger in La Liga at the time, with Sevilla scoring 10 more league points than the previous season under his leadership and improving the team's ranking to 5th. Rakitic remains the best player in La Liga in terms of averaging key passes per game and creating great opportunities, and it just so happens that Barcelona's midfield talent withered that season, and Xavi's aging made them realize that they had to find a qualified replacement, and in the summer of the same year they brought Rakitic to camp Nou for 18 million euros.
Looking back, whether it is from Schalke 04 to Sevilla, or from Sevilla to Barcelona, Rakitic's transfer price has always been unexpectedly low, and Rakitic has always been the player who has been underestimated by the world, even in the 2018 World Cup in Russia, leading the Croatian national team to create a miracle, his highest value is only 70 million euros, far lower than his actual performance on the field.
Barcelona's original intention in bringing in Rakitic was to use him to make up for the gap in Harvey's departure, and to use Rakitic's organizational skills to help Barcelona complete the tandem of the midfield under the pass control play, but after joining Barca, Rakitic could no longer play a highlight assist performance similar to the 13-14 season, but used his tireless running to play the role of a sapper on the right side of the team and behind Messi, and in the first season after Rakitic joined, Messi scored 41 goals from the previous season Suddenly improved to 58 goals, Rakitic's protection behind him has also become an important guarantee for Messi to dare to let go of the attack.
In the five seasons since joining Barcelona, Rakitic's highest performance has only been 9 goals and 7 assists in the 2016-17 season, and in order to protect the defense, he has also sent an additional 10 yellow cards, but in exchange for these years, Rakitic has become the only midfielder to integrate into the Barca system, and the player who really occupies the main and core position. Although in Barca, there is never a shortage of good talent in the midfield, worse than the hardness of Rakitic Vidal, less than the aggressive Rakitic than Busquets, and even the attention received by the youngsters Artur and De Jong is higher than Rakitic, but in valverde and Setien's team, Rakitic has always been a thunderous main force.
The data does not reflect the full value of Rakitic, in recent seasons, he has been the player with the most running distance in barca, from the characteristic point of view, he does not have that distinct trait, on the defense he is not the B2b kind of beast waist, interception and containment skills are flawed; in terms of organization he is not as agile and creative as his compatriot Modric; on the attack in the face of Barca's strong firepower, he has never been a qualified finisher. But he is strong in running undead, and the technology and consciousness are very comprehensive, since Alves left, Barcelona's right side has always had defensive drawbacks, coupled with Messi la side often choose to cut inside, Rakitic's offensive ability, but also allowed him to play a good role as a winger assault, it is with a full range of skills, so that Rakitic in the case of not being optimistic, based on Barcelona these years.
The 2018 World Cup in Russia made Croatian football and Modric, after helping Croatia to get the world cup runner-up, Modric also broke Mero's decades-long monopoly on the Ballon d'Or, but behind Modric, if there is no Rakitic's help, Croatia will not go to the World Cup final, and the two players who came out of the war together help Croatian football complete an incredible feat.
At the 2018 World Cup, Rakitic showed off all his talents for a long time, and he and Modric, two great midfielders, helped the Croatian national team all the way to the final with tenacity and tireless running. If Modric is the metronome of the Croatian national team, Rakitic is the sharp blade that pierces the heart of the opponent. In the national team, Modric needs to take into account the offensive guidance from the backcourt to the front, as well as the control of the overall rhythm of the team, and Rakitic in addition to playing his role as a sapper, in terms of forward offensive impact, he and Mandzukic, became Croatia's most dependent attack, the success of the Russian World Cup, so that Rakitic ushered in another peak of his career, including Real Madrid, Tottenham and other teams are trying to recruit him into the team, and in the German market 70 million worth, It also became the highest record of his career.
How to define Rakitic, has always been a hot topic of debate among fans, from some individual data, Rakitic is no more than many midfielders in history, but he has surpassed many stars in history in terms of offensive and defensive ability and personal consciousness, Rakitic is one of the few low-key pragmatists in this era, always obscure on the field, but can create the greatest value, and when he abandons the word "genius", he also has the same as Ronaldo and Kobe Bryant. A brilliant life written with diligence and sweat, perhaps this is the best way for Rakitic, who seems to be "mediocre talented", to inspire the world!