Ivan Rakitic claims that Cristiano Ronaldo called him personally to tell him to come to Juventus, before the move broke down.
The Croatian international was with Barcelona at the time, before leaving the club 12 months later for a nominal fee, but was supposedly a keen target for the Old Lady back in 2019.
Rakitic has since returned to former club Seville, where he is contracted until 2024, but things could have gone differently if the Catalan giants had entertained our offer.
The 33 year-old now admits that his former club were asking for too much money(€50 Million) at the time, whilst claiming that he was called personally by Ronaldo who was keen to link up in Turin.
“In the summer of 2019, Cristiano called me personally to suggest I go to Juve,” Ivan told 24sata(via Football.Italia).
“He told me that the club wanted me too, but the transfer didn’t go through. Barcelona were asking for €50 Million and it was too much.”
Rakitic went onto praise our current superstar, despite playing alongside Lionel Messi with Barcelona.
He added: “Ronaldo is one of the greatest of all time. You really enjoy watching him and what he’s doing at Juventus.”
You could assume that we dodged a bullet following his downfall shortly after, although there is no guarantee that he wouldn’t have been a hit for us, but you have to wonder if the Portuguese is asked to make these sorts of calls often to bring players into the club.
Do you believe a call from Ronaldo would be enough to sway most stars to come to Juve?
Patrick
