He was Messi's teammate and was linked with Inter Miami, but he chose Cristiano

Since Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi decided to join Al-Nassr and Inter Miami, respectively, soccer has changed. Now the Pro League and Major League Soccer are aiming to compete with the top tournaments in Europe and are trying to persuade top players to choose Saudi Arabia or the United States.

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That competition, for now, is being won by CR7. Multi-million dollar offers from Pro League clubs have been tempting many stars such as Karim Benzema, N'Golo Kanté, Sadio Mane, Neymar Junior, Riyad Mahrez, Aymeric Laporte and Marcelo Brozovic. Meanwhile, the top players who chose MLS are fewer: Sergio Busquets, Jordi Alba and Luis Suarez accompanied Leo in Miami, while this year Hugo Lloris joined Los Angeles FC.

However, rumor has it that some other stars may soon follow Messi's path. Antoine Griezmann has claimed he would like to play in MLS once he leaves Atletico Madrid, while Sergi Roberto and Luka Modric are other options. But a former Barcelona player, who was Leo's teammate for years, chose another path.

Ivan Rakitic was mentioned on several occasions as a possible signing for Inter Miami. Moreover, he plays in a sector of the field where coach Gerardo Martino needs reinforcements. However, he preferred to follow Cristiano Ronaldo and go to Saudi Arabia. According to Marca, the Croatian midfielder is close to agreeing his arrival to Al-Shabab, where he will replace Ever Banega, who returned to Argentina this year to play for Newell's Old Boys. Reports even indicate that Rakitic has already said goodbye to some people working at Sevilla, so his departure is imminent.

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Some want to leave

Despite the fact that Saudi Arabian clubs continue to sign top players, some of those who have arrived in the past year now want to leave. Jordan Henderson was the first, breaking his contract with Al-Ettifaq to join Ajax. And others are rumored to have intentions to do the same, including Roberto Firmino, Aymeric Laporte and Sergej Milinkovic-Savic.