Ivan Rakitić

Rakitić : MONEY LOVE LIFE TATTOO CAR HOUSE

Born in Rheinfelsen, Switzerland, to a Croatian family of Šokic origin, he started his footballing career with the youth academy of FC Basel in 1995. The midfielder made his debut for the first-team on 29 September 2005 against Široki Brijeg in a UEFA Cup fixture, and went on to establish himself as a regular first-team player during his second season at the club, making 49 appearances, scoring 11 goals, and winning the Swiss Cup (2006/07). The midfielder was the subject of interest of a host of European clubs after his exploits with Basel, and it was German club Schalke 04 who secured his services for a fee of €5 million on 22 June 2007. The Croatian scored his first Bundesliga goal within seven minutes of his debut as Schalke and VfB Stuttgart played out a 2-2 draw. During his four season spell at the German club, the Croatian featured in 135 games, scoring 16 goals and providing 29 assists. The Croatian's next destination would be Spain, on 28 January 2011 he signed a four-and-a-half year contract with La Liga club Sevilla, and made his debut a week later against Málaga. During his three-and-a-half season spell with Les Hispalenses, the Croatian midfielder made 149 appearances, scoring 32 goals and registering 41 assists. During his final season at the club he captained Los Rojiblancos to victory in the final of UEFA Europa League (2013/14), in which he was named man of the match. He earned himself a spot in both UEFA Europa League Team of the Season (2013/14) and La Liga Team of the Season (2013/14). His stellar performances led to a bid from FC Barcelona, who signed the Croatian midfield dynamo on a five-year contract on 16 June 2014. The Croatian's time at Barça would be laden with both personal and team accolades. He scored 34 goals and made 37 assists in 269 appearances for the Blaugrana, winning La Liga (2014/15, 2015/16, 2017/18, 2018/19), Copa del Rey (2014/15, 2015/16, 2016/17, 2017/18), Supercopa de España (2016, 2018), UEFA Champions League (2014/15), UEFA Super Cup (2015) and Club World Cup (2015).