Rakitic Set For Sevilla Return, Released By Barcelona

Ivan Rakitic may have surprised people with his latest move by returning to Sevilla. A couple of weeks ago, a homecoming seemed out of the picture with Los Palanganas calling a reunion complicated. It turns out that it was the Croatian's wish all along.

According to Goal, Rakitic reached an agreement with Barcelona after agreeing to a pay cut for his release. He is set to sign a two-year deal with Sevilla which includes an option for a third year. He will earn roughly $3.6 million per season, a big price off his original earning of $9.6 million at Camp Nou.

A return to Sevilla made sense considering Rakitic spent three years there before moving to Barca in 2014. At that time, the 32-year-old midfielder made 149 appearances across all competitions. That included winning the 2013-14 Europa League before making the switch to the Catalan giants.

Rakitic's star shone brightly with Barca for the last six years. Among his memorable moments include four La Liga and Copa del Rey titles, a Champions League plum and the Club World Cup.

It was a surprise development considering Sevilla sporting director Monchi shot down the possibility of Rakitic moving back to his former team. However, the Croatian made no secret his affinity with the Andalusian side and even celebrated their Europa League triumph.

"It looks difficult to me, if not impossible. It is so complicated economically that I do not see it," Monchi said.

Aside from Sevilla, Juventus was widely speculated to be a possible next stop for Rakitic. The 32-year-old player belied those suggestions and said that he was staying put in Barcelona.

Rakitic becomes the latest player to move out of Barca which is now undergoing an overhaul. Luis Suarez is looking for a new club but the biggest news to date is discussing the future of Lionel Messi. The Argentine is bent on leaving Barca though only a few teams may be able to afford his high fee.

In a previous post, Argentine president Alberto Fernandez sent a message to Messi and told him to consider Newell's Old Boys. A parade was even held to back the call although nothing has progressed for now. Newell has a track record of pulling the impossible, a clear example of which was the case of Diego Maradona.