Ivan Rakitic joined FC Barcelona in the summer of 2014. The midfielder was born to Croatian parents in Rheinfelden, Switzerland, on March 10, 1988, and he has dual nationality, allowing him to represent Croatia at international level. 

Rakitic, who spent his childhood in Switzerland, followed in his father and brother’s footsteps and began to set his sights on a career in football. He joined the Basel youth team, where he made his debut in a UEFA Cup match against NK Široki Brijeg on September 29 of 2005 at the age of 17. He made his league debut against Neuchatel Xamax later in the same season. However, it wasn’t until the following campaign, 2006/07, that he became a regular starter for the team. He won the Swiss Cup with Basel and he scored 11 goals that season, which earned him the accolade of Best Young Player of the Swiss Superleague.

His breakout season in Switzerland didn’t go unnoticed, and one of the historic teams in Germany, Schalke 04, signed the player in the summer of 2007. On his Bundesliga debut he scored against VF Stuttgart. He played for Schalke 04 for three and a half seasons, and during this time he scored 17 goals in 135 matches and his team finished second in the 2009/2010 season.

In the winter transfer window of the 2011/12 season, Rakitic signed for Sevilla. He made his debut in La Liga against Málaga on February 6, 2011. After his arrival to the Andalusian side, the midfielder won the confidence of the coaching staff and became the leader of the team’s midfield. Rakitic was named the captain of Sevilla in the 2013/14 season. The club would go on to win the Europa League that year, and Rakitic was named the man of the match in the final. In his three and a half seasons with Sevilla, Ivan Rakitic scored 30 goals from 145 matches.

Despite featuring for the Swiss national youth teams, the player elected to play for Croatia. Since his debut at the age of 19, on September 8, 2007, he has become a fixture in the Croatia side. He  has played in two Euro Championships (2008 and 2010) and in the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.

Ivan Rakitic made his official debut for the Club on 24 August 2014 in La Liga against Elche. The match ended with a Barça victory (3-0).

In his first season at the Club, the ex-Sevilla player played a total of 50 games — 32 in La Liga, 12 in the Champions League and six in the Copa del Rey, scoring a total of eight goals. His most important goal came on 6 June 2015 in the Champions League final against Juventus, opening the scoring and paving the way to Barça's fifth Champions League title.