IVAN RAKITIC

"England were surprised what we could do. All of their players were worth £70m, £100m, £150m but they had to play against us”

- 

FourFourTwo have been in Seville for mere minutes when Ivan Rakitic looms large, holding the Europa League trophy. ‘CAMP7ONES,’ boasts the giant display on the doors of the airport’s arrivals hall, referencing Sevilla’s record seventh triumph in the competition at the end of last season.

It’s a scorching 41 degrees when we land and we’re soon heading 50 miles south to the plush Montecastillo golf resort – next to the Jerez motor racing circuit – where we witness Rakitic preparing for the new campaign with his team-mates, including Erik Lamela, Gonzalo Montiel, Papu Gomez and goalkeeper Bono. Training begins at 9.30am to avoid the worst of the heat, but the work is still pretty demanding. “It is hard – it’s difficult to understand why we move only 40 minutes out of Seville; it could be easier to at least go outside Andalusia!” Rakitic jokes when he greets FFT, the session over.

The 35-year-old was born and raised in the cooler climes of Switzerland, but went on to earn 106 caps for Croatia and appear in a World Cup final before his international retirement in 2020.

Throw in his two Europa Leagues with Sevilla, nine years apart, as well as a Champions League triumph and four Liga titles with Barcelona, and it’s been a decent career. Now, he’s here to answer your questions about it all...

What was your upbringing in Switzerland like?

Joe Palmer, Norwich