Barcelona have been busy in this summer's transfer window, and though the mega-money £75 million acquisition of Luis Suarez from Liverpool has put the purchase of Ivan Rakitic in the shade, the Croatian cannot be overlooked. And nor has he been. Signed from Sevilla on June 16, Barca's new boy has seen a marginal increase in rating in FIFA 15. Rakitic scored 12 La Liga goals in 34 appearances last season and added a further three to that tally in European action as he fired The Red and Whites to Europa League glory. The midfielder also enjoyed a reasonably successful World Cup campaign with his country, playing all three games for Croatia and providing once assist, though he could not help his nation qualify from the group phase. Nevertheless he has risen steadily in '15, with publishers EA Sports deciding to reward his recent performances with a boost of three points from 81 to 84 in the upcoming footy title. This is relatively unsurprising given that the 26-year-old shone in Spain in 2013-14, and the ex-Schalke man is fully deserving of his new score.
Joseph is an accredited football journalist and has interviewed nearly all of the current 20 Barclay's Premier League managers. He is also a correspondent for Bleacher Report and has written for Caught Offside and Give Me Football.
