Ivan Rakitic in shock move to Al Nasr? No, but the Barcelona star was given a guided tour of the Dubai club

The Croatian midfielder was simply visiting the Arabian Gulf League club, three-time UAE champions, during a recent vacation in the emirate

epa06855978 Ivan Rakitic of Croatia (L) and Luka Modric of Croatia warm up prior the FIFA World Cup 2018 round of 16 soccer match between Croatia and Denmark in Nizhny Novgorod, Russia, 01 July 2018.

(RESTRICTIONS APPLY: Editorial Use Only, not used in association with any commercial entity - Images must not be used in any form of alert service or push service of any kind including via mobile alert services, downloads to mobile devices or MMS messaging - Images must appear as still images and must not emulate match action video footage - No alteration is made to, and no text or image is superimposed over, any published image which: (a) intentionally obscures or removes a sponsor identification image; or (b) adds or overlays the commercial identification of any third party which is not officially associated with the FIFA World Cup)  EPA/FRANCK ROBICHON   EDITORIAL USE ONLY
Powered by automated translation

For a brief moment, Al Nasr looked to have secured one of the transfer coups of the summer.

On Monday night, the Dubai club’s official account released a short video of Ivan Rakitic arriving at their Al Maktoum Stadium. The Barcelona midfielder, a runner-up with Croatia at last summer’s Fifa World Cup, was shown around the refurbished arena, accompanied by members of the Nasr board.

He was given a guided tour, and posed for pictures holding the Nasr No 4 jersey – his number at Barcelona.

However, Rakitic was simply visiting the Arabian Gulf League club, three-time UAE champions, during a recent vacation in the emirate. A Primera Liga champion with Barcelona in the season just gone, and an apparent target for Manchester United this window, his immediate future seems set to stay in Europe.

Saying that, perhaps one day he will be back at Al Maktoum Stadium, in a more permanent capacity. Nasr supporters can only dream.