Lionel Messi and Ivan Rakitic of FC Barcelona react during a La Liga match between Sevilla FC and FC Barcelona at Estadio Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan on February 23, 2019 in Seville, Spain. Messi was given the armband for the Catalan giants in 2018 after Andres Iniesta had left the club. Former Blaugrana star Ivan Rakitic played alongside Messi for six years before leaving the club in 2020.
Rakitic remarked, “Messi is the best in history, and if he put his mind to it, he could be the best left back in the world if he wanted to!” He added, “Although he was sometimes not the best captain to tell you what you had to do, that was because he was unique and different.” Rakitic was happy to play alongside the famous trio of Messi, Neymar, and Luis Suarez but says they had great support in the team.
He stated, “Of course, I can say that I enjoyed playing with Messi, Neymar, and Suarez. Hopefully, they say that they enjoyed playing with Rakitic too. They scored 100 goals per season, but they couldn’t have done it without the support at the back.”
Rakitic is currently playing in the Saudi Pro League with Al-Shabab FC after leaving Sevilla.