Rakitic reveals Cristiano Ronaldo tried to convince him to join Juventus

Former Barcelona midfielder Ivan Rakitic has revealed that Cristiano Ronaldo personally called him in 2019 to persuade him to join Juventus. the Croatian admitted that the chance to play in Italy remains one of his career regrets.

“It’s true that in 2019 Cristiano Ronaldo called me and said: Come join us at Juventus. To be honest, I would have loved to play in Italy. It’s one of the regrets of my career”.

Rakitic, now 37, made over 300 appearances for Barcelona, scoring 35 goals, including one in the 2015 Champions League Final against Juventus. Despite his long spell in La Liga and earlier years in the Bundesliga, he never managed to feature in Serie A.

Manchester United have confirmed that Cristiano Ronaldo they have reached an agreement to re-sign Portugal’s forward Cristiano Ronaldo from Juventus

He expressed admiration for Italian football, saying he admired the lifestyle, the tactical quality of the league, and especially Gennaro Gattuso, who coached him recently at Hajduk Split.

The Croatian World Cup finalist also won the Croatian Footballer of the Year award in 2015.

When asked why the Juventus move never happened, Rakitic admitted it was partly down to Barcelona’s stance and partly because of transfer fee complications.

“Partially because of that and partially because I was still at Barcelona,” he said.

Still, Rakitic said he has no regrets, having played for top clubs like Sevilla, Barcelona, and Hajduk Split.

Cristiano Ronaldo of Real Madrid is chased by Ivan Rakitic of Barcelona during the La Liga match between Barcelona and Real Madrid at Camp Nou

Cristiano Ronaldo spent three seasons at Juventus after arriving from Real Madrid in 2018. During that time, he scored 101 goals in 134 appearances and won two Serie A titles.

While Rakitic never joined him in Turin, the revelation adds another fascinating “what if” to Juventus’ transfer history.