AGREEMENT REACHED WITH SAUDI CLUB AL-SHABAB FOR THE TRANSFER OF IVAN RAKITIC

We have agreed a deal with Saudi Pro League side Al-Shabab Club for the transfer of Ivan Rakitic, who will bring his second spell with us to a close. Rakitic returned in the summer of 2020 after leaving FC Barcelona, the club we sold him to in July 2014 after originally signing the Croatian in January 2011. Rakitic, vice-captain of the squad until now, is the player with the second most official appearances in the current squad, after Jesús Navas. He has played a total of 323 games, scoring 51 goals and providing 63 assists.

Broken down by competition, Ivan played a total of 238 LaLiga EA Sports matches (36 goals), 26 Copa del Rey matches (seven goals), 25 UEFA Champions League matches, 32 UEFA Europa League matches (four goals) and two UEFA Supercup matches. This makes the Croatian international the foreign player with the most appearances for the club and the only one to have surpassed the 300-game mark. Overall, he is our eleventh-highest appearance, equal with Montero. 

He has also won two of the seven UEFA Europa League trophies won by the club. The first came in 2014 in Turin, in which he himself lifted at the Juventus Stadium as captain, and the one won on 31st May 2023 in Budapest. Everyone at the club would like to thank Ivan Rakitic, one of the most decorated and loved players in our history, for all his effort and dedication over the years, and wish him every success in the future.