Rakitic on his way to Saudi Arabia? Croatian veteran expected to leave Sevilla for second time, join former Atlético star

Croatian veteran Ivan Rakitic is likely to move to Saudi Arabia. Al-Shabab are interested in his services, having already brought a player from the Spanish La Liga last year. Rakitic is reportedly close to signing a contract.

While some are calling for a move away from Saudi Arabia, Croatian veteran Ivan Rakitic, on the other hand, is very likely to head to the Saudi Professional League.

Al-Shabab are interested in the services of the 35-year-old midfielder. Rakitic has been only a substitute since Quique Sanchez Flores took over the reins of Sevilla’ s A-team. And that is why his stay at the Andalusian club will probably end very soon.

The Möhlin native is under contract at the Spanish club until the end of June this year. However, due to his position in the team, he himself is thought to be in favour of a potential transfer.

Rakitic will thus look to Saudi Arabia at the end of his engagement, with the transfer expected to happen immediately, i.e. in this winter transfer window.

The transfer, which is already imminent, was also reported on the X platform by renowned journalist Fabrizio Romano. In any case, the Croatian will not be the only player to move from La Liga to Saudi Arabia. Specifically, Al-Shabab already lured Yannick Carrasco from Atlético Madrid to join them last year.

Rakitic and his career so far

Rakitic started professional football in Basel, from where he moved to Schalke in July 2007. He moved from the German club to Sevilla four years later. He then left Andalusia for Barcelona in the summer of 2014, where he quite possibly spent the best years of his football career.

Rakitic played 310 competitive games for the Catalan big club, scoring 35 goals and adding 42 assists. He also recorded similar statistics at Sevilla, where, including his second engagement after returning from Barcelona, he registered 51 goals and 63 assists in 323 games.

In terms of team achievements, however, it was in Barcelona that he experienced the most glory. Rakitic won the league four times there, the domestic cup and, most notably, the Champions League in 2015.

Source: The Athletic, Football Espaňa, X – Fabrizio Romano