Rakitic: Cristiano Ronaldo ‘called me’ to join Juventus from Barcelona | OneFootball

Former Barcelona star Ivan Rakitić admits Cristiano Ronaldo called him in 2019 to convince him to join Juventus: ‘I would have liked to play in Italy.’

Cristiano Ronaldo tried to convince Rakitic to join him at Juventus in 2019, the former Croatian midfielder told Gazzetta.

Rakitic reveals Cristiano Ronaldo’s call to join Juventus

Ivan Rakitic Cristiano Ronaldo

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

The 37-year-old played 310 matches with Barcelona, scoring 35 goals, including one against Juventus in the 2015 Champions League Final.

Rakitic never got to play in Serie A as he spent most of his career in the Spanish La Liga and Germany’s Bundesliga.

“I have great admiration for Italian football and your lifestyle, and I’m also the No.1 fan of Gattuso, who coached me last year at Hajduk. You have a great national team coach, and he’ll take you where you all want to go,” he added.

Rakitic is also a Croatia World Cup Finalist and won the Croatian Footballer of the Year in 2015. Why did the move to Juventus fail to materialise? Was the transfer fee too high?

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

“I’ve been a lucky man. I played for Barcelona, then returned to Sevilla and then to Hajduk. It would have been fascinating, but it was beautiful even this way.”

How many goals has Cristiano Ronaldo scored at Juventus?

Juventus Giorgio Chiellini jubilates with his teammate Cristiano Ronaldo (L) after scoring the goal during the Italian Serie A soccer match Parma Calcio vs Juventus FC at the Ennio Tardini stadium in Parma, Italy, 24 August 2019. EPA-EFE/SERENA CAMPANINI

Cristiano Ronaldo joined Juventus from Real Madrid in the summer of 2018, and Maurizio Sarri was his coach at the Allianz Stadium in 2019.

Ronaldo eventually spent three years at the Allianz Stadium, scoring 101 goals in 134 appearances across all competitions.

Ronaldo won two Serie A titles during his time at Juventus.