Rakitic: 'Not being able to play alongside Ronaldo is the biggest regret of my career'

Ivan Rakitic disclosed that his "biggest career regret" was the missed opportunity to team up with Cristiano Ronaldo at Juventus.

The former Croatian midfielder, who enjoyed highly successful years with Sevilla and Barcelona (during the time Ronaldo was a star at Real Madrid), said that it was the Portuguese superstar himself who personally called him in 2019 to persuade him to move to Italy, but in the end, Rakitic had to decline.

Ronaldo joined Real Madrid from Manchester United in the summer of 2009 as a world-class star. A year later, Rakitic (then only 22) moved to Sevilla after impressing at Schalke. The two faced each other for eight La Liga seasons, with Rakitic playing for Sevilla until 2014 before joining their fierce rivals Barcelona. Ronaldo left Madrid in 2018 to join Juventus, starting his Serie A journey.

In an interview with La Gazzetta dello Sport, Rakitic expressed his regret at not being able to share the locker room with Ronaldo. He said:

“Ronaldo called me in 2019 to convince me to join Juventus. I really wanted to play in Serie A, and that remains the biggest regret of my career. I've always admired Italian football and the lifestyle there.”

“The deal fell through partly because of the transfer fee being too high, and partly because I was still under contract with Barcelona. Nevertheless, I feel lucky to have worn the Barca jersey, then returned to Sevilla, and later Hajduk. It definitely would have been an exciting experience if it had happened, but my journey has been very valuable.”

While Ronaldo continued to dominate Serie A with over 100 goals in three seasons at Juventus (despite limited team trophies), he returned to Manchester United in 2021 before joining Al-Nassr in January 2023.

As for Rakitic, he maintained top form in Spain, staying with Barcelona until 2020 before returning to Sevilla, similar to Ronaldo's return to Old Trafford. After a brief stint at Al-Shabab (Saudi Pro League), Rakitic went back to his homeland to play for Hajduk Split and officially announced his retirement in July this year.

Currently, Rakitic holds a sports leadership role at Hajduk Split alongside Goran Vucevic, while Ronaldo continues relentlessly scoring, aiming for the milestone of 1,000 career goals and pursuing the dream of winning the World Cup with Portugal at the upcoming tournament in North America next year.

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