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Picture Credit: Twitter

Former Barcelona midfielder returned to the Camp Nou on April 3. Although he was with his Sevilla side in La Liga, Rakitic had a rather surprise gift for his fans and supporters at the venue. It should be noted that the 34-year-old received a warm welcome from fans as soon as his name was announced before the kick-off. Even Rakitic became emotional after the full-time whistle and went to the extent of offering his shorts along with his t-shirt to his fans.

His gesture has soon gone viral but has received divided opinions from social media users. "Was giving away the shorts necessary," wrote one Twitter user. "Real legend and a great leader ❤️," wrote another.

Check out the viral image and some of the comments here:

Notably, Rakitic has been one of the legends of the club having spent six years at Barcelona. He won four league titles, four Spanish Cups and the 2015 Champions League during his stay at the Camp Nou.

As far as the match is concerned, the home team registered a 1-0 win in this contest. Pedri scored the solitary goal of the match in the 72nd minute which was enough to help Barca clinch three points. Pedri deceived Rakitic, beat Lucas Ocampos before he struck the ball into the back of the net.

This was Pedri's first goal from outside the penalty area for the La Liga giants. The goal was also his second in his last seven appearances for the club, which is as many as he netted in his last 34 matches.

"It’s been crazy. They welcomed me very well from day one. They deserve it because they are the best fans," Pedri said after the game.

"We know that Sevilla is a good team, that it was difficult but we managed to get the result," he added.

"It’s similar (the goal) to the one in Turkey. I made a couple of turns before picking my spot. The team has improved in many ways," he stated.

"We press much better, we are calmer on the ball, the signings up front have helped as well. We are a team, things are going well and we are happy to get second," he said.

The result has extended Barcelona’s unbeaten run in the Spanish top-tier league to 14 matches.