Ivan rakitic is not in Croatia's 2026 World Cup squad because he retired from professional soccer in July last year. The former midfielder ended his club career at 37, closing a run that stretched across Basel, Schalke 04, Sevilla, Barcelona and Hajduk Split.
Rakitic and Croatia
He finished his international career with 106 appearances for Croatia after retiring from the national team in 2019. That leaves Croatia at the 2026 World Cup without one of the players tied most closely to its modern run, from the first game together in 2007 to the 2018 World Cup final.
Barcelona and Sevilla
Rakitic's club record included seven years across separate spells at Sevilla and a six-year stretch at Barcelona from 2014 to 2020. He won the Champions League with Barcelona in 2015 and said the Spanish club was the club of his dreams, where he achieved all his goals playing with the best players in the world and winning everything as a team.
He also said Sevilla was a second home and the city where his daughter was born, calling it eternal after a run that brought his first major title. Before those peak years, he came through Nordstern Basel and played for Basel from 2005 to 2007, then spent four years at Schalke 04 before moving on again.
Hajduk Split and Gonzalo García
His final club before returning home was Al Shabab, and he later ended his playing career while at Hajduk Split. Hajduk coach Gonzalo García said Rakitic was a key influence in his own arrival at the club, underlining how quickly the midfielder moved from dressing-room leader to retired player.
Rakitic said football gave him victories, defeats, lessons and friends for life, and that it was time to enjoy it from another perspective. Croatia moves on without him, but his 106 appearances and the 2018 World Cup final remain part of the squad's recent history.
