Ivan Rakitic has revealed why he left Sevilla.


 "I couldn't hurt Seville. It was time to leave," Rakitic said.


Rakitic was once one of the top-rated midfielders in Europe. He made his name known throughout Basel, Schalke, Seville, and Barcelona. Notably, he contributed to his team's treble by joining the Barcelona team during the 2014/15 season, winning the Spanish La Liga, Spanish Copa del Rey, and the UEFA Champions League.


He returned to his old team, Sevilla, ahead of the 2020/21 season. He played for four seasons afterwards, leading his team to the UEFA Europa League. Last winter, he moved to Saudi Arabia's Al Shabaab with a record of 51 goals and 63 assists in 323 matches in Sevilla's transfer market.


Rakitic explained why he left Sevilla. He said, "It's never easy to leave. It's not an easy decision, but most of all, I wanted to make it myself. When your colleagues tell you not to do that, you have to understand accepting it even if it hurts sometimes."


He explained, "I'm proud of that. It's important to make your own decisions. I would never have allowed myself to be in trouble. Besides, I knew I could help Seville by my decision. I had a great conversation with the president of Seville. See you later, not goodbye. We will wait for each other."


Rakitic showed his affection for Sevilla. He recalled, "If you have to explain about football, especially Seville, you can do it for hours and hours. Unless it's Barcelona or Real Madrid, it's very difficult to grow football that much. Few teams in Europe can always be there. Only Seville could win last year's Europa League."


"It's very good," Rakitic said of life in Saudi Arabia. "There are quite a few Spaniards. We meet each other and share our stories."


The reason for choosing al-Shabaab was, "I can feel the love, passion and excitement for football. I want to introduce what happens here. People always talk about money, but it's really nice to live from day to day."


Rakitic said, "I think all the foreign players, including myself, came here to feel passion for soccer. Before I moved, I wanted to know everything that was going on in Saudi Arabia and what they wanted to do."


"I couldn't keep my mouth shut. Saudi Arabia wants to show the world its treasure. It is being done through sports. Saudi Arabia will become the center of the world of sports and soccer," he said. 토토사이트