Croatian midfielder Ivan Rakitić, former captain of FC Sevilla, arrived to Barcelona and passed his medical to sign a five-year contract with the Catalan team. Spanish giants made a world-class presentation of the newcomer, who will wear the number four jersey.

"I would like to thank Barcelona for their approach. For every footballer, it is important to know that his club counts on him", said Rakitić to numerous media representatives at his first press conference as a Barcelona player.

Rakitić, honoured to wear Guardiola's shirt, also spoke of his new boss, Luis Enrique: "We have talked, and we all know what a player he was and it was important to me to listen to him".

"I hope I can make Messi and Neymar even better players, as they can help me improve. It was difficult to dominate against Barcelona, since we all knew that they will have possession. I will start working even before pre-season, in order to be in a good condition from day one", added Rakitić.

Rakitić was capped 65 times, scoring nine goals for Croatia.