'We would find him a place! - Rakitic invites Messi to Sevilla

Ivan Rakitic has jokingly suggested he wants to Lionel Messi follow in his footsteps and switch allegiance from Barcelona to Sevilla.

Sevilla on Thursday announced the signing of Ivan Rakitic, who signed a four-year contract after the club paid a nominal €1.5 million fees for his services to FC Barcelona.

Rakitic made his homecoming after a successful six-year stint at Camp Nou during which he won four La Liga titles and a Champions League trophy among numerous other honors.

Another Barcelona player has been heavily linked with a move away in the last few weeks. Lionel Messi caused a huge stir when it came out that has decided to cut ties with his boyhood club.

Recent developments suggest that Messi could end up staying at Camp Nou after a discussion between his Jorge Messi, his father and agent, and president Josep Bartomeu. But Rakitic is not discounting the possibility of the Argentine’s exit.

“We would find him a place, no problem,” he said when asked about the possibility of pairing up with his former teammate at the Ramon Sanchez-Pizjuan, via Goal.

“No, seriously, I think it is nice to see how the club is growing. Always humble. And this is also what is attractive to me.

“I want to work, fight with my team-mates for making Sevilla even bigger. So, fight, work and I am looking forward to start right now.”