He made his debut for the Croatia national team in 2007 and has since represented the country at UEFA Euro 2008, 2012 and 2016, and the 2014 and 2018 FIFA World Cup, reaching the final of the latter.

His father Luka Rakitić is a Šokac from Sikirevci in Croatia,[7][8] while his mother Kata (née Papić) is a Bosnian Croat from Ponijevo near Žepče.

At age 16, his potential was noticed by top European scouts, and went for trials with clubs such as Arsenal, but he and his family decided to stay at Basel to allow him to play more regularly in a smaller league instead.

[12] After spending some short time in the youth teams, Rakitić went on to make his first-team debut for Basel on 29 September 2005 during the UEFA Cup away match at Široki Brijeg.

He then went on to make a total of seven appearances in the 2007–08 Champions League season,[18] including a strong and very impressive midfield role in Schalke's home fixture against Chelsea in the group stage.

He and former teammate Mladen Krstajić were temporarily cut from the squad the night before Schalke's next fixture against Rosenborg due to being caught skipping training and taking part in a late-night partying.

[19] Helping his side prevail in the penalty shootout against Porto to reach the quarter-finals for the first time,[20] Rakitić had to miss both the fixtures of such against Chelsea due to an ankle injury sustained in training.

He continued such form in the next fixture against Eintracht Frankfurt, assisting Mladen Krstajić for the only goal of the match to conclude with Schalke a positive home season.

[24] On 28 January 2011, Rakitić signed a four-and-a-half-year contract with Spanish La Liga club Sevilla for a transfer fee of €2.5 million.

In the last game of December, he assisted in a 1–2 away win against Villarreal, helping Sevilla reach a top ten position after a disappointing start of the season, as well attracting attention from other international clubs.

[37] He was the first player to captain a team to victory in the UEFA Europa League Final and also pick up the official man of the match award.

[39] By the Spanish national football league association, Rakitić was chosen in La Liga first XI in both first round, and team of the season.

He made his debut for the team in a pre-season friendly match against French club Nice on 2 August, when he came on as a second-half substitute for Sergi Roberto.

[49] In the next week's game, against Granada, Rakitić headed in Lionel Messi's cross for his second goal of the season in a 6–0 victory at Camp Nou.

[54][55] On 11 August 2015, Rakitić played the full 120 minutes as Barcelona defeated his former club Sevilla 5–4 to win the 2015 UEFA Super Cup in Tbilisi.

[57][58] As an 18th-minute substitute for Sergi Roberto, on 20 October he scored both goals from Neymar assists as Barcelona won 2–0 at BATE Borisov in the Champions League group stage.

[66][67] Rakitić's playing time was severely reduced during the 2019–20 season and his role in the team decreased following the arrival of Frenkie de Jong.

He won a penalty after being tackled by David Alaba, which Lucas Ocampos successfully converted; however, Bayern came from behind to win the game 2–1 after extra time.

[85] On 20 July 2024, Rakitić announced his departure from Al-Shabab, joining Hajduk Split in his home country of Croatia on a free transfer.

[87] He made his full international debut for Croatia on 8 September 2007 in their UEFA Euro 2008 qualifier against Estonia in Zagreb, highly praised by the fans as he was entering the game as a substitute.

[90] He made his first appearance at the tournament as a starter against Germany, and eventually provided a shot which ricocheted off the post and allowed teammate Ivica Olić to score the second goal in their 2–1 victory.

With the game goalless and entering the final half-hour, Rakitić burst into the Spanish penalty area but could not direct his header past goalkeeper Iker Casillas after being picked out by a wonderful Luka Modrić pass.

[citation needed] In the 2014 World Cup qualifying campaign, on 12 October 2012 Rakitić scored a goal from a free-kick against Macedonia at Philip II National Arena to help secure a 1–2 victory for Croatia.

[96] On 17 June 2016, Rakitić scored a goal to double Croatia's lead against the Czech Republic, but later the game was turned around when the play was halted briefly after Croatian fans threw flares onto the pitch.

[106] He missed the deciding fixture against England at the Wembley Stadium, that saw the winner go through to the finals, due to a hamstring injury,[107] as Croatia lost 1–2 and finished at the bottom of the group.

At the time of his retirement, he had made 106 appearances and scored 15 goals, making him fourth most capped player (after Darijo Srna, Luka Modrić and Stipe Pletikosa) and ninth joint top goalscorer in the history of the national team.

[111]A talented, intelligent, and hard-working midfielder, Rakitić is known in the media as a well-rounded playmaker, with good stamina and defensive skills, as well as excellent technique, close control, vision, passing, and an ability to read the game, which enables him to dictate play in midfield and create chances for teammates after winning back possession, despite his lack of pace.

[123] Rakitić initially met her on the first night he arrived in Seville in the summer of 2011, at a hotel bar, and attributed his fluent learning of Spanish, to his repeated attempts to take her out on a date.

On 1 July, the house was allegedly attacked by a group of six men who threw rocks at it, breaking several windows and forcing Rakitić and his family to flee the island on a speedboat.

[127][128] However, Slobodna Dalmacija reporters investigated the event and discovered that only one window was broken by an unknown perpetrator, and that Rakitić rather calmly left the island hours later, giving autographs to the local fans.