In the 11th round of La Liga, Barca beat Valladolid 5-1 at home. Messi showed a heroic performance in this game, helping the team win twice. But as the number one fan in the Barca team, Rakitic is not at all happy. He still did not get a starting opportunity in this midweek game, and what is even more tragic is that the 30 minutes of his substitute appearance in the game turned out to be his longest appearance for Barca in the last month.
"Group owner" is a nickname given to Croatian star Rakitic by Chinese fans, because the latter has hyped Messi countless times in public, even "without a bottom line", so he is also known as "Mei Blow group owner", but this season, "Pull group owner" is calling the past of Camp Nou.
In the champions league group stage of Barcelona's 2-1 home win over Inter Milan, Croatia international Rakitic, wearing the glorious number of red and blue No. 4, once again sat on the bench for 90 minutes, for him who was still the main player last season, this season was like falling into the ice cellar, and his "deep love" with Barcelona seemed to dissipate in the hustle and bustle of camp Nou as if it had been in the past. After the game, Rakitic's wife, Raquel, who was "fed up", fired on social media, sharing an article by Serre radio reporter Carreño with the headline "You can't treat players like this anymore". Raquel also wrote at the same time as Atrakitić: "Rakitic did not give up on himself, you are an example of perseverance, a model of wisdom and professionalism." For that, I love you. You are the big hero, and no one can change it. ”
Perhaps many fans will be puzzled by the "group owner" in a short period of time from darling to abandonment, and the use of Valverde and the human touch of the club are even more scornful, but in fact, long after the club decided to win Frankie De Jong, Rakitic's fate at Camp Nou was already doomed. There is no denying Rakitic's contribution to Barcelona over the years, but for Barcelona, where "only Messi is the truth", no one but Messi can guarantee the future of Barcelona, even Rakitic, who has become the "leader of the Meibuki group".
Ever since Barcelona, starring "The Children of La Masia", withdrew from the stage of history, the Catalan team has been trying to recreate the mystery of the cosmic team by buying and buying. But in fact, the nearly 1 billion euros that were smashed in the transfer market did not make the team rush out of the atmosphere again, of course, Rakitic, who transferred from Sevilla for 18 million euros in the summer of 2014, is definitely a clear stream in the club's blind reinforcements.
In his first season in Barcelona (2014-2015), Rakitic reached the top of the team – winning five titles including La Liga and the Champions League, while the newcomer Croatian rose to fame by opening the scoring in the Champions League final against Juventus. From that season until the 2018-2019 season, whether the head coach is Henrique or Valverde, Rakitic, wearing the No. 4 shirt that Guardiola once wore, is a corner of the team's midfield iron triangle. According to the Barcelona royal media "World Sports", as of the end of last season, Rakitic has produced 71 goals (goals + assists) in Barca in the past five seasons, the strongest scoring ability among all the midfielders in the team, with an average of 14.2 goals per season, and he also helped the team win 4 La Liga titles, 4 Copa del Rey and 1 Champions League in the same period.
Rakitic not only has excellent ball skills and great tactical effects, but he also has a clear self-awareness. As we all know, no matter how big a wrist you are in other teams before, how indispensable the core, but after coming to Barcelona, you must deeply understand the phrase "players who don't want to be a green leaf for Messi are not worthy to play at Camp Nou", and then if you don't pose correctly, you will sit and wait to be intimidated, Ibrahimovic and Neymar have a deep understanding, if you put on the right posture, then it is a smooth step, Alves, Suarez are cool and explosive. Rakitic knows this well, he knows that his mission is to support Messi and create opportunities, "We feel very lucky to have the best players in the world at our club. What's more, in the past 5 years, he has become the "leader of the Meiburi group" with bottomless praise.
Although this argument is exaggerated, it is enough to explain Rakitic's high emotional intelligence and his low profile. Laymen look at the hilarity to praise Messi, but insiders know Rakitic's immeasurable role, even Mourinho, who has no mouth and is crazy, thinks that the Croatian is the most underrated, "I have long wanted to say that Ivan Rakitic is one of the most underrated players in the world. Speaking of Rakitic's undervaluation, Mourinho gushed: "Usually we talk about the well-known players. In my opinion, Rakitic still needs to improve his instagram and social media account management, which is very important in this day and age. Rakitic is great on the pitch, but he's not very good at that. On the pitch, he was a fantastic player in every way. He ran tirelessly on the right, escorting Messi on the defensive end. He is also excellent at ball possession, with simple and efficient ball handling technique. Indeed, barcelona has been the only team to reach the top eight of the Champions League for 12 consecutive seasons because of Rakitic's presence, or because of Rakitic, the team has successfully contributed to the Bernabeu for the past four consecutive seasons.
Overall, after the emergence of La Masia such as Xavi, Iniesta and Busquets, Rakitic, who can play the core in terms of ability but only a sapper in attitude, is the most irreplaceable player in barcelona midfield in the past 5 seasons, and the most successful reinforcement since the team returned to Earth from the universe. But now, these auras are being called history, and Rakitic is drifting away from Camp Nou.
As of Barca's 5-1 win over Valladolid in La Liga, Rakitic has made a total of nine appearances for Barca this season, for a total of 233 minutes, averaging less than 30 minutes per game. The only starter, the team also lost to Granada. This is clearly a performance of appearances that are already outside the team's plans, and for the Croatian, who was still the team's thigh last season, the distance from heaven to hell is only a summer.
Is Rakitic old and useless? The 31-year-old Croatian midfielder, despite his decline in form, still stands among the world's top midfielders, and giants such as Juventus and Inter Milan will not continue to hand olive branches. Is that the "group leader" powder turned black? Even more unlikely, Rakitic is not only a staunch Messi supporter, but also one of the team's most loyal fighters, "I want to stay at Barca, if I can renew my contract, I want to stay in the team for many years." "What made Rakitic fall from a darling to an outcast in an instant?" In a word, the club and Valverde have mishandled the matter.
During last season's winter transfer, Barcelona officially announced that Ajax midfield core Franci De Jong would land at Camp Nou in the summer, a piece of news that made Barca fans rejoice, but the bad news is that barcelona midfield bloat will intensify, meaning the team will inevitably clean up the squad, and Rakitic, who overlaps de Jong's position, will be the first. So, this summer, Rakitic was inevitably embroiled in transfer rumors, and the most nose-and-eye news was that he would be the "head" of The Camp Nou's recall to Neymar. As a loyal player of Barca, Rakitic is eager to end up at Barca, but the club has no intention of renewing Rakitic's contract, but wants him to join the Neymar trade, which is understandable for professional clubs, but the fans can't accept this bird's bow.
In the end, Neymar failed to return to Camp Nou and Rakitic failed to make his appearance under the Eiffel Tower, and while the fans were happy, everyone with the discerning eye knew that Croatia would be in a very awkward position this season. It is also true that at the beginning of the season, Valverde put Rakitic on the bench to accompany Vidal, while Artur, Frankie De Jong and Busquets became the team's new midfield triangle. Valverde, known as a tactical genius, explained why Rakitic was abandoned, "You (journalists) always ask me why a player didn't make it to the roster. If he's not in the squad, it's because another player has been selected. The answer is not leaky, but without Rakitic on the pitch, barca midfielders are no longer leak-free, and after creating the worst start in recent years, Valverde, who has been a bit of a mess, is experiencing the backlash of abandoning the Croatia international.
Although I would like to stay at Camp Nou, and I also like life in Barcelona, I am not willing to leave like this, but as a professional player, Rakitic, who claims to play until the age of confusion, must plan the future for himself and the family formed by Raquel, who has been chasing for a long time. Even Barca fans, who love Rakitic, believe that since the Croatian who is still playing at Barca does not have many opportunities, it is better to leave the team to get a good contract, because this departure may be the last big contract he will get.
As a Swiss-born, Catalan-speaking Croat who speaks six languages, around winter, he will take another crucial turn in his career, just as he did in the summer five years ago, and looking back on these five years, Rakitic can only think of stable happiness, "I am very proud to be a member of the biggest club in the world." I love football, I love it so much, I never get bored. There are many repetitions in football matches, training, travels, but these have not affected my love of football. If that love is gone, then leaving is the best option. If you like something, you want to do better in that regard. I never saw football as a job because it didn't feel like a job for me. But I'm also well aware of my responsibilities, people are watching you every minute and they want to know what you're going to do. It sounds unusual, but it doesn't mean you need to change yourself. You can still enjoy what you do and be a person with big dreams of football. ”