Sunderland have struggled in the transfer market in recent years and one player they missed out on would have changed everything.
Former Barcelona star Ivan Rakitic
Former Barcelona star Ivan Rakitic
Ivan Rakitic has announced his decision to retire at the age of 37, bringing an end to a glorious career which saw him star for the likes of Barcelona and Sevilla and the Croatia national side.
The midfielder called time on his playing career this week, and will continue to work with his final club Hadjuk Split as part of the Croatian side's sporting leadership team.
Capped 106 times for Croatia, Rakitic helped his country reach the 2018 World Cup final, while he won four La Liga titles and the Champions League while with Barcelona.
However, it all could have been very different if Sunderland followed up transfer interest in the star back in 2011 - and he would have cost them only £380,000.
The story of how Sunderland almost secured the Croatian international comes from former player and European director of scouting Ian Atkins.
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He was tasked with leading a scouting team and suggesting talent from European leagues to Sunderland, a position he took up in 2006 following their return to the Premier League under Roy Keane's management.
In January 2011, as his Schalke contract neared its final six months, Atkins and his crew alerted Sunderland to the then 22-year-old Rakitic, who was poised to sign a pre-contract with the club.
This would have allowed the Black Cats to secure Rakitic for less than £400,000 in compensation to the German Bundesliga side.
For undisclosed reasons, Sunderland opted not to seize this chance, and instead of letting him go for free, Schalke offloaded him to Sevilla for an approximate fee of £2million. At that juncture, it was believed Rakitic was quite eager for a switch to the Premier League.
Rakitic's career trajectory soared after joining Sevilla, where he clinched a Europa League title before transferring to one of the globe's most illustrious football clubs in Barcelona.
Atkins reflects on his LinkedIn profile: "When I left the club (in 2012) to join Everton my staff left the club also - two joined Man Utd, one Arsenal, one PSV all full time.
"Unfortunately their recruitment has never been same since - with so many changes and so much money on poor signings wasted."
So there you have it. Ivan Rakitic for just £380,000. If only.