ESPNFC.com has reported that Croatian midfielder and Sevilla FC captain Ivan Rakitić will stay in Spain and honor the last 18 months of his contract despite interest from French champions Paris Saint-Germain.
“Things are going well for me right now,” the former Schalke player said. “I hope they continue or even go better.”
“I also see all the rumours right now, and I’m proud to see my name associated with PSG, for example, but it’s not me who looks after that. I don’t worry myself with it. I’m very good here in Seville, fully committed to the project.”
“I’m proud to be part of this club. I have the good fortune and honour to be captain, which is a great source of pride for me. So, I want to repay that trust to the people at the club. I’m very happy here,” Rakitić told reporters.
Rakitić came to Sevilla in 2011 after a following out at German Bundesliga club Schalke and has scored 23 goals in 99 appearances for the Spaniards. This season alone, he has eight goals and six assists in 16 La Liga matches. After a rough start to his Sevilla career, as the club underperformed, Los Nervionenses find themselves in 7th place this season, only four points behind Athletic Bilbao for Spain’s last Champions League berth.
Rakitić might be happy in Sevilla right now, but how can he deny a bigger paycheck and Champions League football if teams like Liverpool and PSG are knocking on the door?
Rakitic misses penalties pretty often
Rakitic will likely move in the summer. He wants to move to a top club that plays in the CL. At 26, and entering his prime, this is his chance to secure one massive pay day.
So he is more motivated than anyone to replicate his club form for Repka (and then some). A sick performance in the WC would see his stock soar.
Have’em play CAM (like at Seville). Let Srna take a back seat, and have Rakitic take all the free kicks, corners, and penalties.
@ NEGATIVNA
You are Rakitic hater!
@ Poglavnik
Thank you for your Iatina.
@ Svima
Rakitic kills it this WC and becomes captain for Europe 2016 campaign.
Sto posto !
So are you saying that you dont want to eat my skid marked shorts???
I’m not a Rakitic hater nor am I a Rakitic apologist. I don’t hate any of our players, but I don’t openly root for them at the club level either unless they happen to play for a club I support or if I have a wager on their game.
I care about one thing and that is the repka. That is why I am not impressed with Rakitic until he can equal his play from the club level to the repka.
Hull agree fee for Everton striker Nikica Jelavic I wonder how this plays out. Hopefully he can get some good service.
http://www.bbc.com/sport/0/football/25691329
If Rakitic wants to play, stay with Sevilla. There money situation has been delayed with the mass exodus of the past summer. They are on the unfortunate side of a rebuilding cycle. The Geoffrey Konombia sale to Monaco was the killer. If the kid stayed 2 years he would have been a star!!
If Rakitic wants the money, then you go to France and get paid more than any of the EPL teams can even fathom and if you have the luxury of having a cunning agent you can negotiate one of those sweet deals all the other imports have negotiated where you wont pay any tax at the club. Galatasary did the same thing for Sneijder and Drogba when they lured the pair to Istanbul.
Athletico Madrid would be an intriguing candidate for Rakitic. Coke seems like he will be departing very soon. Back in the summer when Barca sold David Villa for a paltry 3 million Euros to Athletico, it was per-negotiated that Barca would have first refusal when it came time to sell Coke. Coke is a right footer that they have been playing grotesquely out of position on the left wing. The kid already has the physical presence of a Xabi Alonso and many coaches in Europe feel that his delivery of a set-piece is already in the David Beckham and Luis Figo stratosphere of quality. Pretty impressive for a 22 year old. Just think, the future torch bearers for the Spanish National Team will be Isco, Illarmendi, Koke, Bartra, Azpilicueta, Iker Muniain, Sergio Busquets, Cesc, Javi Martinez, Ander Herrera, De Gea, Alba, Thiago, Pedro, Tello, Deulofeu, Mata and Costa. Pretty damn scarey !!
Valencia seems to have their stadium situation almost resolved so they can possibly be another suitor for Rakitic. Traditionally always have been a club that have done better than Sevilla and they have a far better youth setup
With Jelavic, just pray he turns his career around. He will really have to turn a 180′. Even still, his previous performances for Cro, back when he was scoring for Everton, Rangers or Vienna, he still did not play well in the checkers.
I wish him all the best though.
..after a falling out..
not following out
@Poglavnik-I am neither a hater or a lover,but like you and most of us,I just want to see him do well.Now is really his time,if he doesnt “bring it”to Brazil,he never will for the NT.
The question remains-Will Ziva eat my Skid marked shorts if he does play well??
P.S.
Id love to be proven wrong!
In fact, Ill be one of the first to pay tribute to him with a bit of peroxide if he’s one of our best players at the tournament.
I’d just like to say I’ve been one of the original Rakitic haters on this site for years now.
Rakitic is pretty fuckin far from being above criticism!
Let’s all wait til he actually does something for us before we start frosting our tips.
@Ziva-If Rakitic does play well at the WC,will you eat my shorts???
@Valentina-Nice!
-Ivica says”Maybe we can kidnap Rakitics wife to really unleash him for the NT”-LOL,he has scored some crazy goals in Spain and is at his peak there.
-On another note,IGGYYYYYYYYYYY,where are you?????????????????????? 🙁
@ all the Raketa apologists………so if he plays at the WC like he usually does for the repka, will he apologize or will you.
Hvala Valentina !
@ Ivica
Sad ZNAS!
NK will bring out the best in him.
@ All the raketa haters
A simple thank you to Rakitic will suffice when he brings it in Brazil.
Man, looking at that video Valentina posted.
Rakitic has had some crazy bombs for goals this season. We really need to find a way to unleash him for our national team.
Change his role, Kidnap his wife, I dunno. We gotta figure it out.
I like Rakitic staying put through Brazil.
He feels great and is playing like field general.
No time to start attempting to integrate into a new set up.
Plus he will have more options in July and be able to settle into a new club with a proper preseason.
As much as I like the EPL, it is a drain on the legs.
@ Ziva
Kovacic is the real deal.
I am not sure what is going on with that inter trainer ?
If you are not sold on him that sell him.
Murzim kada klubovi naceju nas deski.
Picku materinu !
Probably for the best. If he manages to get in the starting 11, we have one more decent player ready for Brazil.
http://sportske.jutarnji.hr/odabrao-sn-pogledajte-deset-najljepsih–golova-hrvatskih-reprezentativaca-u-2013–/1153518/
When over half the clubs in Europe stop wanting Kovacic, then you start to worry about him.
^ ^
Jelavic looking a few kilos over weight in that picture.
Hope doesn’t start letting himself go!
^^^
It was Hull vs Fulham (6-0) Fulham looked like shit.
Any thoughts on Hull?
I caught a highlight of one of their recent games and it was pleasantly surprising.
They sit 10th in the table.
http://msn.foxsports.com/foxsoccer/premierleague/story/everton-reach-agreement-with-hull-for-jelavic-fee-011014
Ziva- I respect your opinions on Croatia, soccer, and all of the drama behind the federation. When it comes to other things like basketball & MMA or even buying a sports jersey, you are either a massive troll or just ignorant. I’m not going into it, you know who you are.
Cowherd is the same way, he knows some stuff about the main sports. Then when it comes to combat sports or college sports, he is clueless yet still tries to sound all intellectual.
Dude needs playing time. Also, playing for Hull gives him a built in excuse if he doesn’t score much. Scoring 5 goals for Hull from here until the end of the season probably looks good.
breaking news apparently per everton’s twitter handle
nikica jelavic has permission from everton to speak with hull city about a permanent move
@Armada-I was upset and not thinking clearly.This is not a time to get mad at each other……budala…. 🙂
Cico will be back when Hajduk and Dinamo play again,Iggy is MIA.
I was referring to Rakitic’s wife.. budala…
@Armada-Iggy is missing and all you can think about is shafting his wife????????????? I didnt think he was married.
IGGYYYYYYYYYY,where are you?????????? 🙁
His wife is a cutie. No model material, but I would throw it in her with ease.
Yeah, where is Iggy? Cico?
IGGYYYYYY,where are you??????????? 🙁
Any body else getting really annoyed with all of the Coachella statuses and talks????
Raktic’s wife is pretty hot, and funny enough he has introduced kulen to Seville from his tapas bar! LOL
http://www.croatiaweek.com/tag/ivan-rakitic/
Poglavnik- I totally agree with you, I mentioned this a few weeks back…keep his confidence and playing form good and he will have an easier time in the WC!
I don’t think the interpreation of this article is correct. Rakitic is not rejecting gong some place. he is simply saying what an athlete is supposed to say whenever there are trade rumours .i.e. i like it here and am dedicated to the club. its an honor to be talked about, but those tings are not my primary concern.
although i agree that he prob does like life in sevilla
I hope Rakitic goes nowhere during this transfer window. I think it would only disrupt his preparations for the WC. He’s playing well, and sounds pretty happy so why would we want him to move anywhere else when the WC starts in 6 months?…
If he waits til after (so long as he doesn’t miss any more open headers) his value would most likely be higher too.
@Allen Steven-Outraged ………how so, please explain?
@Armada……..I listen/watch Cowherd every now and then. I don’t always agree with him, but he always makes well though out points and I respect that.
@Ivica……….dude knocked up a chick and now he is married with kid. It’s not the worst thing in the world to be living in Seville and playing soccer. There are only three places he can go to in Spain: Barca, Real or Athletic Madrid. Maybe his agent got word that one of those three teams are interested in him. Other than that, the bigger money will be in the EPL if he decides to go.
Beware of Minister Jovanovic’s (Serbian cetnik) shenanigans.
http://www.hrsvijet.net/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=30831:eljko-primorac-jovanovi-pokuava-zakrviti-zagreb-i-split-torcidu-i-bad-blue-boyse&catid=116:eljko-primorac&Itemid=388
@ Armada
What’s his real play for staying at Sevilla?
Answer: Rakitic is whipped to kingdom come.
He’s got himself a Spanish chick that he’s very much in love with (he’s pretty vocal about it too), they own a restaurant together in Sevilla, and they are expecting a child.
He’s completely settled down and probably plans on spending the rest of his life in Andalusia after his playing career is over.
There’s nothing wrong with this (although he could lose the corny professions of his love), it’s good to hear that he’s happy, but naturally our only concern is how well he plays for us on the NT. If staying in Sevilla is going to stagnate his career over playing for a team like Liverpool, then obviously I’d prefer he doesn’t stay. I’m sure he is interested in going to a team like Liverpool (who wouldn’t be) but I wouldn’t doubt his wife is in his ear a bit about being upset with living in ‘cold and rainy’ Liverpool over ‘currently warm and sunny’ Sevilla. I would too if I was football wag who had nothing to do all day.
Skip Bayless is leaps and bounds worse than “The Herd”
Ziva tends to act like an ignorant douche when something doesn’t relate to soccer or Croatia. So the Colin Cowherd comparison is pretty spot on. They should shake hands.
I mean what’s his real play for staying at Sevilla? Are they paying him a boatload of money? He’s not gonna win trophies there… If he’s cool with living the nice life in Espana, collecting a nice check and finishing below RM and Barca every year, then by all means he should stay put
re: Rakitic…..and once he hears how much he can make per week…cha ching….well, I guarantee you he’ll reconsider!
RAKITIC TO REJECT PREM INTEREST
Ivan Rakitic has snubbed interest from Manchester United and Liverpool to remain at Sevilla.
The midfielder has been in dazzling form this season, claiming eight goals and six assists in 16 La Liga matches, leading to speculation that he could move to the Premier League in a £15million deal.
However, here’s what he had to say: “For the time being, I only think about Sevilla.
“I have important matches ahead of me and additional responsibilities as captain of the team, so leaving is not something I’m considering now.”
@ Ernest
I agree, we just need for guys like Rakitic, Modric, Lovren, Mandzukic, Srna to translate their solid club form into NT success (easier said than done) and start squeezing production out of this young crop (Rebic, Vrsaljko, Kovacic).
If Niko i brate can figure out the above puzzle, mark my words we’ll give Brazil a run and have a nice run in the groups.
@ Ziva
I’m reading a book written by Colin Cowherd (was always a fan of his radio show too)… the more I read on this guy’s opnions, worldview, etc. the more similarities I see between you and him…
are you Colin Cowherd under an alias?
@Zagorac
LOL. It’s so true.
That’s OK. Let him be in love.
On current form, Luka Modric is the best deep lying midfielder in the world. Consistently best or near best performances on a team full of superstars. Lets enjoy him because he is in the form of his life currently. If he continues to improve up to June, we will be no easy out in the World Cup. Only people who understand the game can truly understand what he means to Real Madrid and the NT. Goals and Assists dont come close to painting the picture of the impact he makes.
At what point to we start to worry about Kovacic? He is not starting and some of his performances have not been inspiring.
Rakitic will be sold, either this winter or this summer. Sevilla needs cash and there is no way they would let Rakitic walk on a free transfer.
What a great guy
Hi,
I live in Paris; they’re like over 10 players every day, than PSG “wants to buy”, they talk about Rakitic only once.
But I think it’s better this way, because they are soooo much players in the middle than Rakitic would be on the bench; I think it’s safer to stay at Seville and play every game.
Btw Kovacic looks to had a shitty game last night (I didn’t watch it):
http://www.goal.com/en/match/126388/udinese-vs-fc-internazionale/report
Papučar