My problem with modern day Barca trickles down to players like Rakitic. I acknowledge that he has played well for the majority of the season but at the end of the day, a player like Rakitic should never feel too comfortable at Barca.
He's at best a solid player, he's not world class or special. There are many players in the world who perform at his level or better, yet for some reason our midfield is built around him and our manager insists on playing him every game.
If Madrid feel as if players like Ozil, Di Maria or Khedira were dispensable for them and they could upgrade to better, then Barca should be doing the same with Rakitic. But instead of looking for better or trying to become less reliant on a player who is just solid, it seems our managers rely more and more on this guy as the years go by.
This is a fundamentally flawed for a club like Barca. We've become too content and comfortable with what we have rather than aiming for better which we can easily do in most cases now.