Rakitic wants a neutral stadium for the Cup Final

CAIRO – 9 February 2018: Barcelona defeated Valencia 2-0 on Thursday night to reach the Spanish Cup final thanks to two goals from Philippe Coutinho and Ivan Rakitic.

Rakitic revealed his happiness to reach the final after the game; saying “I'm very happy to be able to play in another final and we had a great game."

Barcelona reached their fifth consecutive final to be the first Spanish club in the history to make such an achievement.

Barcelona’s opponents in the final are Sevilla who defeated Leganes 2-0 on Wednesday. This final will be a repeat to 2016 final when Barcelona defeated the Andalusians 2-0.

The final is scheduled for April 21 but the Spanish federation have not yet chosen the stadium to host the match. Sevilla’s president suggested Sevilla as the location, an idea the Catalans were not fond of.

Rakitic revealed his opinion on the Sevilla president’s suggestion; saying “I am aware of what the Sevilla president said and I invite him to Barcelona if he wants. The best thing would be to find a neutral site that suits everyone."

Rakitic represented Sevilla between 2011 and 2014 and he was named the club’s captain during his last year with Sevilla.