Ivan Rakitić

[xXKonan]

He looks finished from a physical and mental aspect.

But nah lets give him a contract extension and let him still be a starter despite his dreadful performances on a consistent basis and make no real effort into finding a better starting CM than him. Or even letting Roberto have a run of games as a starter.

 

[JamDav1982]

Hes been shite for ages.

Dont think he has ever been good enough really and just worse now.

 

[xXKonan]

I said it before he was fortunate that our other Midfield options weren't really great either. But this season you start to question if he really is any better than our current options we have like Gomes,Roberto,Paulinho Denis etc.

I mean Paulinho has his limitations but at least he puts in a shift and it's same with Roberto as well. Our B team even has some interesting exciting options in the Midfield that we can give a chance to as well.

 

[dakt]

He's done.

 

[DonAK]

Perhaps Valverde will realize that soon too....hopefully.

 

[Barcaman]

He is finished indeed.

 

[Raketa10]

He is definitely done. We won’t be able to sell him next summer and now we have two “walking dead” midfielders in the team, Arda and Ivan. What a nightmare!

We should try with Gomes, no way he can be this bad, this was beyond awful.

 

[DonAK]

Would be easier to sell him.

Question is if he'll accept to leave or just stick around. I think he'll prefer a move within Spain and therein lies the problem.

He'd have to take a paycut and a team would want to put 20m on the table.

If there was justice in this World, Arsene Wenger would take him to Arsenal for 40m.

 

[Horatio]

Anyone got a compilation showcasing he's done? Didn't see the game.

 

[BBZ8800]

Anyone got a compilation showcasing he's done? Didn't see the game.

Nothing particular.
The same as in the last 2 years.
90% of passes are backpasses and sideway passes.
And a few forward passes which he tried were horribly inaccurate and given away.

Croatia desperately needed a win and key midfielders and creators were Modric and Rakitic.
Modric was trying to create all the time, while Rakitic's game was: he gets the ball, he waits for a few seconds and passes it back to either defenders, fullbacks or Modric.

The crowd and teammates expected more creation from him, but he played as if he wants to say: No. I won't do anything. Here, I am passing the ball to YOU. YOU should try something, I am not interested in trying anything, I will just stand here and watch you (other guys) playing and trying to create something.

He is still okish in defense.
But in midfield build up and creation and in attacking support, his impact is currently as if your team is playing with 10 men.

Some Barca's fans thought that he was poor under Lucho because he needed to babysit for a RB.
But he is as equally as poor in creation under Valverde and even in Croatian NT, where he is a key player and where he doesn't need to babysit for anyone.

 

[xXKonan]

He's at that age where he should be in his prime but instead he's mostly skipped that phase and went straight to decay.

Sure he's not the most technically gifted player but I thought he would be a useful option to have even if we buy a Midfielder. But nope it seems like after we won the treble and the double even in the double season he wasn't great at times he thought that was enough for him and was rewarded with a new contract.

He's getting paid well and he's a starter still despite playing like it's a country club with zero fucks given most of the time. Must feel nice living off the treble season and getting rewarded with a new contract while your performances decline and certainly not worthy of continuing being a starter.

The worst part is Valverde will keep playing him despite him not clearly deserving it either.

 

[kilian]

I remember some time ago people saying how Rakitic is much more creative than Modric, that Modric was just a sideways passer etc. It was not entirely true, but at that moment Rakitic really was more creative than today and Modric wasn`t at his absolute best. Now, it seems that those two literally changed sides. Modric overcame that mental block he had when he arrived in Madrid and he is now probably the most creative he has ever been, while Rakitic is playing like a scared under-18 player who just got his chance with the first team. Weird.
The bad thing is we all know now that it`s not a phase nor it was because of bad tactics. He just declined, especially in the mental aspect of the game.

 

[Neymessi]

Now watch him start most of our games this whole season.

 

[JerseyAddict]

The game in Ukraine is his last chance to show that he is capable of something... it is life or death game. UCL final for NT. If he can't make it there what the hell will he do against some team in UCL or La Liga. WAKE UP AND SMELL THE COFFE FFS!

 

[Barcaman]

Rumors is, he will be benched in Kiev.