Sevilla re-sign Rakitic from Barcelona
Sevilla have re-signed Croatian midfielder Ivan Rakitic from Barcelona for an initial fee of €1.5 million.
The Andalucian club have confirmed that they've reached an agreement with Barca which will see the 32-year-old head back to Ramon Sanchez-Pizjuan Stadium ahead of the new season, reports Goal.com
The final transfer could end up costing Sevilla a total of €10m (£9m/$12m) including variables, with Rakitic committing to a four-year contract with the club.
Barca have released an official statement on their website confirming the 32-year-old's departure, which reads: "FC Barcelona publicly expresses its gratitude to Rakitic for his commitment and dedication and wishes him good luck and success in the future.
"Versatile, hard-working and with a good vision of the game, he ends his career as a Barca player with 310 games, in which he has made 40 assists and 36 goals.
"This Wednesday, September 2, starting at 11am, the farewell ceremony and subsequent telematic press conference of the player will take place."
Rakitic won 16 major trophies in total at Barca, including four La Liga titles and the Champions League, having moved to Camp Nou from Sevilla in the summer of 2014.
The Croatia international enhanced his reputation as one of the most consistent performers in the Spanish top-flight during his time in Catalonia, but fell down the squad pecking order following Frenkie de Jong's arrival from Ajax last summer.
Rakitic still managed to appear in 39 games across all competitions last season, but was ultimately deemed surplus to requirements after Ronald Koeman's appointment as Barca's new head coach, with the Dutchman replacing Quique Setien following the team's shocking 8-2 defeat to Bayern Munich in the Champions League.
The experienced playmaker will now be charged with helping Sevilla build on an impressive 2020-21 campaign which ended in Europa League glory.
Julen Lopetegui's men beat Inter 3-2 in last month's final, having already secured a spot in the Champions League by finishing fourth in La Liga.
Rakitic spent four years on Sevilla's books before joining Barca, scoring 32 goals and 41 assists in 149 games, and will hope to pick up from where he left off when the new season kicks off later this month.
