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Ivan Rakitic. Photo by The Yemenite camel.

Top 10 Remarkable Facts about Ivan Rakitic

Ivan Rakitic is a popular footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder or center for the La Liga club Sevilla. He was born on 10^th March 1988 in Rheinfelden, Switzerland.

His father’s name is Luka Rakitic while his mother’s name is Kata Rakitic. Ivan Rakitic’s father, Luka Rakitic is a Croatian while his mother, Kata Rakitic is a Bosnia and Herzegovina of family origin.

Due to the tension of the war, his parents fled from Croatia to Switzerland to save their life. They fled also to witness the birth of a younger sibling, Ivan who spent his childhood in Switzerland.

He began his career in football at a very young age and within a few years, he became a professional footballer. He also played for several clubs before finally signing up to play for Sevilla.

Ivan Rakitic has won several honors and trophies both at the club and the national level.

Below are the top ten remarkable facts about Ivan Rakitic

1. Ivan Rakitic Started Football at a Very Young Age

Ivan Rakitic. Photo bycopa2014.gov.br.

Ivan began his career in football at a very young age of 16 years when his potential was realized by the top European scouts. His parents however preferred that he stayed in Basel where he would play the small league.

His father and his older brother also played football and it was not a surprise that he loved football being very young.

He joined Mohlin- Reburg in 1992 where he stayed until 1995. He later moved to Basel Football Club where he played for them for the next 10 years.

2. Ivan Dropped Out of School and Dedicate his Life to Football

Since his father and brother were also footballers, they gave Ivan Rakitic a lot of support and encouragement. As he was completing his primary school studies, he began to concentrate more on football.

Since he did not want to attend school for more than nine years, he dropped out and joined a technical school for construction.

Since it was so tiresome to study and train for football, his father asked him to choose between the two. The next day he returned his books and dedicated his life to football.

3. He Married a Beautiful Waitress who Served him a Cake at a Lounge

Ivan Rakitic met his beautiful wife, Raquel Mauri at a lounge where she was a waitress. He had visited the lounge as he was going to sign for Sevilla accompanied by his brother.

Raquel Mauri served him the cake and he could not resist her beauty. He almost forgot the primary reason why they were in Spain.

He pursued her severally by visiting the lounge and she finally accepted to be his girlfriend. They both date for two years before getting married in April 2013.

4. Ivan Rakitic is Considered the Greatest Effective Player

Ivan Rakitic. Photo by Gabrielcorbachobermejo.

Ivan is the greatest effective player as he is popularly recognized as a very intelligent, talented, and hard-working midfielder.

Although he is popularly known as a midfielder, he can as well breakdown an opposing player and transition the ball forward to begin the attacks.

He is known as a player with excellent defensive techniques and he is also capable of scoring goals himself.

5. Ivan’s Father, Luka Rakitic Manages his Career Affairs

Although Ivan’s father was a professional footballer, he did not manage to scale up to the peak of his career, he currently manages his son’s career affairs. His father is also so responsible for the great success that Ivan Rakitic has had in his football career.

He serves as the manager’s manager whereby he makes the final decisions regarding Ivan’s career.

Luka Rakitic went on early retirement due to persistent medical problems but still receives a pension from Swiss.

6. Ivan Rakitic Family Once Faced Terror in Switzerland

Ivan’s family once received terror after he signed with the Croatian National Football Team and left the Switzerland National Team. His decision to play for Croatia brought a lot of fury from his Swiss fans.

His family was also threatened via emails and telephone calls for months after he wore the Croatian shirt. He however discovered that his father’s Swiss citizenship had been rejected one and half months before he made that decision.

7. He was the First player to Captain a Team to Victory in EUFA

Ivan Rakitic. Photo by Gabriel Corbacho.

Ivan Rakitic signed a contract of four and half years to play for Sevilla in 2011. He also played four seasons for the Sevilla team and played a very critical role in the team.

He became the first ever player to captain a team into victory winning the EUFA Europa League Final.

He was picked as the man of the match and won an award in that category. He was also nominated as the best midfielder winning the Fair Play Award.

8. Ivan had Most Appearances in the Club Than any Other European non-Spanish Player

Ivan Rakitic was signed by Barcelona for five years after the contract with Sevilla had come to an end. On 13^th June 2020, he celebrated his 300^th game in Barcelona which was the first game after the COVID-19 pandemic.

During the period when he was leaving Barcelona, he had a total of 25 goals and 200 appearances.

This was the highest number of appearances that had ever been witnessed from any other European non-Spanish player.

9. Ivan has no special Goal Celebration

Ivan Rakitic does not have a particular goal celebration style as most of the prominent players have. However, whenever he scores a goal, he celebrates by expressing his cheer in different ways.

One time as he celebrated a goal which was Barcelona’s fifth goal in the match, he took off his shirt and turned it around for people to see his name and No 4 on the chest.

10. Ivan is a Popular High – Paid Footballer

Ivan Rakitic and, Mattias Ekström. Photo by EKSRX.

Ivan Rakitic is a very well-known player who is highly paid and has mainly concentrated in his profession. He earns a salary of about $9 million and with that, he does not establish any other new business.

As a successful player, he has also been featured in several commercials which earn him some more money.

Ivan Rakitic has been very successful in his career which is evident from some of the awards that he has won. He has been very creative, intelligent, and hardworking in his football career which has made him a well–rounded playmaker in the media. He is a simple well-paid player who has no specific goal celebration style.