The Barcelona midfielder could have joined the Blues or Juventus as a teenager but instead opted to stay with Basel before moving to Spain later in his career.
Ivan Rakitic has admitted he turned down the chance to join Chelsea as a youngster, but insists he does not regret rejecting the Blues.
The Barcelona midfielder received an offer from both the Stamford Bridge outfit and Juventus as a teenager following rave reviews for Basel's age-group sides, but opted to stay in Switzerland.
And the Croatia international - who scored in the final as Barca won the Champions League last season - insists he always felt he made the right decision to wait a little longer for his big-money move, unlike a team-mate who now plays at a much lower level.
"It was important for me to do it step by step," he told the Daily Telegraph.
"First of all to arrive in the first team in Switzerland because I had, at 16 years of age, a big offer to go to Chelsea. And another offer from Juventus and I decided to stay at home with my family.
"Then I first had to get into the Super League in Switzerland and after that the next step.
"At that time, when I was 15, 16, I decided it was important to have my family. It might not have been the best decision for everyone but it was the right one for me.
"Maybe when I decided to stay in Basel it might have been a bad decision but it was my decision. Or maybe I will go to Chelsea and my father would have said 'no, stay at home'.
"It was important for me to say 'the money is there but the money will come with time, also'. There was another player like me and he went and today he is playing in the fourth division in Switzerland!"
Source: Goal
0 comments:
Post a Comment