Ex-Barcelona and Croatian star Ivan Rakitic retires at the age of 37
Rakitic also won four Spanish top-flight titles with Barça. In a video letter posted on Instagram, which began 'Dear football', he said: 'You gave me friends, emotions, joy, and tears. You gave me a whole life, a life I'll always carry with pride.
'Now it's time to say goodbye. Because even if I walk away from you, I know you'll never walk away from me. Thank you, football. For everything.' Born in Switzerland to Croatian parents, he broke through at Basel before moving on to German side Schalke in 2007.
He joined Sevilla in 2014 before moving on to achieve his greatest glories at Barcelona. He returned to the Andalusian club for four years from 2020 before stints at Al Shabab in Saudi Arabia and with Croatian side Hajduk Split. (PA Media/dpa)
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