Ivan Rakitic spoke about his incredible Champions League victory with FC Barcelona in 2015, which was part of the second treble in the club’s history. “The 2014-15 Champions League was the best campaign in the history of the Champions League,” emphasized the Croatian midfielder. The team, managed at the time by Luis Enrique Martínez, successively beat the champions of England (Manchester City), France (PSG), Germany (Bayern Munich) and Italy (Juventus).
Rakitic, who now plays for Al-Shabab, praised this Champions League above all others in an interview with the Saudi podcast “MicsPod”. “At Barcelona it’s not just about winning, you have to win with style,” described Rakitic, who scored the winning goal in the final against Juventus in Berlin.
The Croatian midfielder, who also enjoyed success at Sevilla FC, has expressed his regrets at not winning more Champions League titles with the talented Barcelona side. “We lost the Champions League in 2018 and 2019 because of our own mistakes. Even though our opponents deserved it, I think we didn’t give our best. Maybe we became complacent while winning. When you win so much, you can lose focus and miss important details, and that’s when you get defeated,” he mused.
Rakitic also mentioned Neymar’s departure to PSG in 2017 as a factor affecting Barcelona’s performance. “Neymar brings a unique style to football and I think he still has a lot to offer,” he praised his former teammate, whom he considers his favorite player.
Speaking about Real Madrid, Rakitic highlighted the difference in how the two clubs deal with generational changes. “Barça moves too quickly from one generation to the next, while Madrid does it more gradually.” “Modric and Kroos are still guiding the young players in Madrid, while at Barça, changes are coming quickly,” he stressed.
Speaking about his Barça teammates, Rakitic also mentioned them. He praised Leo Messi, calling him the best in history. He even suggested that if Messi wanted to, he could be the best left-back in the world. However, Rakitic also mentioned that Messi was not the best captain to tell others what to do because he was unique and different. Regarding Luis Suárez, Rakitic said: “He has two personalities: one on the pitch and another off it; he’s a beast, with a chance he’ll kill you.”
Rakitic won four Leagues, four Copas del Rey and one Champions League with Barça, as well as other titles. Despite his success, he admitted: “Maybe we’re tired of winning.”
This content was translated and adapted from the Spanish version of the digital newspaper
