Rakitic, emblem of Sevilla, leaves the club and goes to play in Saudi Arabia | Soccer | Sports

Ivan Rakitic, one of the emblems of Sevilla, has signed for Al Shabab of Saudi Arabia, a team in which his former teammate Ever Banega played. The captain of the Andalusian team and one of the players with the most history of the entity, has also decided to embark on the journey towards Saudi football after losing prominence in the team, which is going through a major sporting and social crisis. Rakitic (35 years old and born in Switzerland, although nationalized as Croatian and international with the harlequinade jacket) says goodbye after 14 seasons in Spanish football. And Sevilla releases, in this way, one of the most important chips in its squad, thereby gaining salary mass to be able to incorporate other players in this busy winter market, where the midfielders Agoumé, from Inter Milan, have already arrived. and Hannibal, from Manchester United. At the same time, the Andalusian club has given striker Isaac Romero a first team contract.

The captain was fired with an emotional ceremony in the Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán antebox. The foreign footballer with the most official matches in the history of the entity leaves. “You are very great, Ivan. I idolized Suker as a child and I couldn’t imagine that he was going to share a dressing room with another great Croatian like you. “You are the only foreign captain that Sevilla has had after Maradona,” said Jesús Navas, present at the farewell. “You are a legend,” he added. “It is a day that no one wants to live. The most important thing about all this is the people and the love they have given me. This hurts. “It has been an honor,” said Rakitic himself through tears. “I bring many friends with me. I was born in Switzerland, I am Croatian, how is it possible that my home is Seville? I will return, although it won’t be in the countryside. I am confident that we will get through this difficult season. There is nothing greater than feeling like a Sevillista and Sevillian. A hug to the costaleros. “I will continue to put my daughters to sleep with marches (music) from brotherhoods,” he clarified.

His departure has a lot to do with his change of role in the team and the decreasing number of minutes played. “Everything has been very fast. I think the time has come to make this decision. I have always played, entering and leaving the eleven has never been my thing. That made me think about things. Not being able to help Sevilla on the field was beyond me. “I couldn’t be on the bench without helping, getting paid and being at home calmly,” added the footballer. “The team will move forward, I’m sure. It’s not your place. I could have stayed helping in the locker room, yes, but I think I helped more by stepping aside,” Rakitic concluded.

Rakitic’s star, which shone for the last time last season with the conquest of the seventh Europa League, has faded in the current season. And the drift of the Andalusian team has dragged down one of its captains. In the last duels played at the Sánchez Pizjuán, the Sevilla fans, who had one of their heroes in Rakitic, continually whistled at the Croatian. This season, and despite his evident poor form, Rakitic has played 27 games in all the competitions that Sevilla has played in and has scored two goals. In total: 323 games and 51 goals.

Rakitic lifts the cup as winner of the Europa League against Roma in June 2023.Darko Bandic (AP)

Rakitic arrived at the Andalusian team in the winter market of the 2010-2011 season. Monchi, the then sports director, noticed a young Croatian midfielder who barely played for Schalke. He arrived together with the Chilean Medel to a team led by Gregorio Manzano. A Sevilla in decline after the many titles achieved in the first decade of this century. Rakitic increased his performance at Sevilla until he became very important in the 2013-2014 season. With Unai Emery on the bench, Rakitic was the captain who lifted the UEFA Cup in Turin in 2014.

His good performances at Sevilla opened the door to Barcelona, ​​which signed him in the summer of 2014 for 20 million euros. Rakitic replaced Cesc in the Catalan team and had very good records in Barcelona. He won 13 titles and was part of the group that achieved a historic treble in 2015 (Champions, League and Copa del Rey). Furthermore, he scored a goal in the Champions League final against Juventus (1-3 for the team then led by Luis Enrique). He won four Leagues and four Copa del Rey titles at Barcelona. The midfielder, who left a great image in Catalonia, played 351 games and scored 35 goals.

He returned to Sevilla in a second stage in the summer of 2020. He was an important part of the team that qualified for the Champions League in 2021 and 2022. The Croatian was also a pillar of the team that won the Europa League last season. Since then, his leading role has diminished considerably.

The Croatian integrated perfectly into Sevillian society. His wife is from Seville and regularly participated in all the festivities and traditions of the capital of Seville. “I’m just another Sevillian,” the Croatian frequently stated. Without him, only another of his captains, Jesús Navas, remains as the great emblem of Sevilla. Rakitic has been capped 106 times for Croatia, a team with which he was proclaimed runner-up in the 2018 World Cup in Russia, after losing the final against France. In addition, he played in the 2014 World Cup and played in three European Championships with the Balkan team (2008, 2012 and 2016).

You can follow EL PAÍS Deportes on Facebook and Xor sign up here to receive our weekly newsletter.

2024-01-30 11:28:22
#Rakitic #emblem #Sevilla #leaves #club #play #Saudi #Arabia #Soccer #Sports