I had a revelation and have reached a conclusion that must be the truth because nothing else makes as much sense as what I'm about to tell you now.
Valverde is a scientist on a quest to discover the amount of stress and work human body can sustain without breaking.
Rakitic is the human subject that Valverde is basing this experiment. He's taking notes, with specific dates and times and is observing the changes in Ivan's body as we speak. A file in Valverde's diary containing his scientific observations has been discovered. Its contents are as follows:
Experiment no32.
Subject: Rakitic, Ivan
Age: 31
Nationality: Croatian
Body type: Ectomorph
Body fat (percentage): 6-7% of body mass
Time of the experiment: November 7 2018
Context of the experiement: The day after the FC Barcelona game vs Internazionale Milano, Football Club (a professional football team based in Milano, Italy).
Number of minutes played by the subject so far in all competitions: 1.312
Observations:
Upon inspection, the body of the human subject shows no visible signs of decay, even if the duration and intensity of the applied stress should indicate more damage. The muscles can still sustain a moderate degree of effort, which can allow the subject to keep performing sporting activities of professional level, including professional football games with the senior team.
Extra notes of suspicious nature:
The subject known by the name of Rakitic, Ivan is showing to be a superior athlete. Other subjects haven't made it this far. We have to continue to study him to discover what exactly is impeding this subject from completely disintegrating as a result of ultra solicitation. It could be something in his DNA, or this could be a trait common for male specimens born in the Balkans. We have to further expand our experiment to provide a scientific answer on this matter.
Recommendations:
Further pressure needs to be applied in order to study its effects on the body (and, more specific, muscles and bones) of the subject in question. Until that moment is reached, we cannot form a clear conclusion. This experiment is thus classified as being in development.
Next scheduled experiment:
November 23 2018.
This file is to be handled with discretion. Not for public knowledge