Ivan Rakitic's confession about Barça's failures in the Champions League that outrages the culés

Ivan Rakitic is enjoying his final years as a professional away from the football elite in his native Croatia. The former midfielder for FC Barcelona and Sevilla, among others, returned to the Balkan country after a brief stint with Al-Shabab after leaving Sevilla last January to wear the shirt of HNK Hajduk Split, where he is playing his first season in the local league. In the midst of his new adventure, the player spoke to the microphones of 'Pelotazo' on 'Canal Sur Radio' and reviewed his journey through LaLiga, recalling two of the tough defeats of the Barça team in the Champions League.

In 2018, Roma overturned a 1-4 deficit and beat the Catalans 3-0 at the Stadio Olimpico, while Liverpool did the same at Anfield just a year later, beating Barça 4-0 who squandered a 0-3 advantage on aggregate. Both 'blows' represented the start of a tough run for the club in Europe, and the Croatian, who participated in both matches, recalled both 'blows' with a confession that has outraged the Catalan fans.

Barça lost due to "boredom"

"For me, and I say this with all the love and respect for the other teams, it was due to pure boredom and thinking about other things than football, since even rivals praised our team as the best in the world. We screwed up against Roma and Liverpool, but it was the boredom of feeling too superior. If we had endured the hunger of the first season, we would have won two or three more Champions Leagues," he revealed.

However, the midfielder regretted the team's attitude in both matches, assuring that football ended up taking its toll on them due to their lack of competitiveness. "It shouldn't be like that, I always play to win, even with my family. But that was my feeling from within. We felt very much above the others and football punished us for that," he said.

He predicts a great future for the club

Beyond this, the footballer predicted a great future for the club, which hopes to triumph again on the biggest stage on a continental level with La Masia. "How many players have won the most important medals this summer. As always, clubs go through better or worse times, but Barça has young players of a level that is outrageous. A few months ago they started with two or three, but now we have a very long list and I think that everything that comes, especially when everyone recovers, is going to be very interesting," he concluded.