Ex-Schalke-star flees after half a year from Saudi Arabia
Ivan Rakitić returns to his roots after six months in Saudi Arabia: After only eight matches for Al-Shabab, the Croatian player, who once made fans happy at Schalke, Barcelona, and Sevilla, is making his first return to his homeland.
The former Schalke Bundesliga professional Ivan Rakitić is returning to Europe after only half a year in Saudi Arabia. The former Croatian football national player signed a one-year contract with an option for another season with Hajduk Split. The nine-time Croatian champion announced this. For the player born in Switzerland and raised in Croatia, this is the first station in Croatia where he was chosen as Croatia's athlete and footballer of the year in 2015.
"One of the best players in the history of Croatian football has signed a contract with Hajduk until the end of the season with an option for another year," Split announced on the club's website. He is expected to be officially presented at a press conference this Sunday evening.
Rakitić reunites with Perišić in Split
Rakitić, who finished second with Croatia at the 2018 World Cup and has 106 international appearances, switched from Spanish La Liga club FC Sevilla to Al-Shabab in the winter. However, he only appeared in eight matches in the Saudi Pro League and was not satisfied. It is not known if Hajduk Split paid a transfer fee for the veteran, but media reports indicate that Al-Shabab terminated his contract and let him go for free.
Rakitić is the second well-known European player to leave Saudi Arabia this summer, after Frenchman Alan Saint-Maximin left Al-Ahli for Fenerbahçe Istanbul. In Split, his former Croatian national teammates Nikola Kalinić (sporting director) and Ivan Perišić await him. New coach is there the Italian legend Gennaro Gattuso.
Rakitić's most successful career station was at FC Barcelona. With the Catalans, he won, among other things, four Spanish championships and cups, as well as the 2015 Champions League. With FC Schalke 04, he won the German Cup in 2011, and with Sevilla, he won the Europa League twice.
Rakitic_, who previously played for FC Schalke 04 in Germany, will now have the opportunity to watch soccer matches featuring his former team, as he returned to his homeland of Croatia. In this new chapter of his career, Rakitic_ will be joining forces with his Croatian teammates Nikola Kalinić and Ivan Perišić, who currently serve in leadership roles at Hajduk Split.
