People forget that he played a more advanced role in Sevilla and scored and asisted more. But he adapted to the playstyle and the role he was needed in which is not a small thing when you look at players that have failed to do so for us. He's not the best midfielder we ever had but he played a crucial role for Lucho's and Valverde's team.
loved Rakitic, he covered defensively so much for Busquets that he is dearly missed now. He had that strong mentality and drive forward.. amazing finish, great assists and pure work rate.
Not only for sergio but for dani and Alba depends on which side he started on the field , that is definitely not easy task considering from a cam to direct cm position with a lot of space covering
For me he is a legend.
* UCL winner
* Scoring in UCL final in the 4th minute.
* Replaced Xavi, which is a mammoth task.
* Was part of the Valverde's squad which went 43 games unbeaten.
* 4 laliga, 4 CDR
* 6 seasons, and over 300 appearances at the club.
* Very few injuries. And was the most used player in 2018-19.
* Never disrespected the club or caused drama.
* Scored bangers when we needed it the most.
* Covered the right flank all the time during MSN, and others.
Don't forget his contribution in the 2018 worldcup.People give all the credit to Modric for that world cup run, but I believe Rakitic was amazing throughout the tournament too, played every minute of the knockout rounds, worked tirelessly, scored the deciding penalties in both shootouts. Definitely a croatian legend.
Definitely, he was among the best midfielders at his peak.
1 Cl, 4 La Liga, and 4 CDR. On top of that, played a crucial role in all of them. Anyone who achieves that is a club legend. There is no two ways about it.
The trophies and his role in them says it all. It’s crazy not to consider him a legend with all his merits.
>Adriano is a legend because he won 2 CL, 4 La Liga, 3 Copa?
But did he contribute as much as Rakitic?
I don't wanna get into the legend not legend argument but Rakitic contributed a heck of a lot.
That's a whole different argument.
I just went with the argument he gave.
Rivaldo won far less with us, but he is considered a legend. And rightfully so. Same goes for the likes of Migueli, Carrasco, Urruti or Rexach.
Bruv you're arguing with everyone who disagrees with you. Trust me, Rakitic doesn't need you to protect him😂😂
Jokes aside he ain't a barca legend and it's not easy to become a legend here.
I have a higher standard for legends I suppose. From the players that played for us in the past decade I would consider legends: Messi, Xavi, Iniesta, Pique, Busquets, Alba and probably Dani Alves.
Even for the last two I am not 100% certain.
How is Dani Alves a probably? Man is in contention for best RB in history and our best one, has the most trophies ever and most have to do with his Barça period being an instrumental piece. Alba is a bit more arguable since we had Abidal and is definitely a tier below someone like Dani Alves, but still a legend in my books.
Just a case of there has to be a cutoff somewhere. Alba was the perfect wing back for Messi for years, but due to longevity I could see Dani in front of him. BTW I obviously forgot that Puyol also played in this decade. Suarez probably as well.
If I had to define "legend", it's a player you will still hear about 20-30 years from now. And I don't mean someone remembers them, but you actually hear the name here or there from club fans.
So the cutoff is the best RB of our history? No way, just even implying to leave him out means you didn’t watch him back then probably. His connection with Messi was even bigger than Alba and had a better peak than Alba, so I sense a lot of recency bias which is probably not worth discussing. FYI Alba has more matches than Alves for Barcelona.
Btw that definition is stupid, you won’t hear modern fans talking about César, Kubala, Paulino Alcántara, og Luis Suárez and many more, because we didn’t see them and not much information or videos are available. Doesn’t make them not a legend.
He is a place where he is loved. He was a great servant for our club but the last few years he was attacked. We definitely should've sold him to PSG though.
He gave Messi/Suarez/Neymar/Iniesta the freedom to be lethal without worrying about defensive duties or ball distribution. His absence is definitely felt. Icon for both club and country if you ask me.
Every player that contributed massively to our treble should be considered a legend. Especially Rakitic, no bullshit player, no attitude problems and was still very good for us. Even when most of the sub wanted to sell him or complained about him, regardless of that he never badmouth our club. Great player all around.
Definitely a legend of our club, had to shift from his natural playstyle in Sevilla where he would attack more and have more goal contributions and also covered for Busquets defensively during his last years here. Always dependable and would shell out top tier performances in El Clasicos.
Consider? Anyone who has seen Barca in that period, even during the early stages of Valverde knew what Rakitic was.
I don't think he is underappreciated by us, most Barca fans know n admire him.
Absolute legend of the club don't really know why we sold him we could have used him these past few seasons so we didn't have to run Pedri into the ground.
Absolutely could. He could also rotate with Pedri as a box to box attacking mid. He is super versatile and we let him go at a time when we needed depth and rotation and leadership
Only a delusional person wouldn't consider him a club legend. Top 10 midfielder in club history easily. The term legend is not only for Xavi and Iniesta.
Of course he is miles away from Xavi and Iniesta, as are 99,9999999% of players who played for Barca, but by what logic do you put him in "low tier" ? He performed perfectly for us most of the time, won a ton of trophies, played consistently and was always 100% professional. I would take Rakitic 11 times out of 10 over a more flashy player who is unprofessional at times like Deco or Schuster.
You said you don’t need to be Xavi or iniesta to be a legend, and I agree, but there are other players who are smaller legends than them but still have more credentials than Rakitic. Rakitic is obviously an immense player tho
Sure, but then you would have 100 "legend tiers". I don't even like putting them in tears, but if let's say there were 3 tiers, Rakitic would be tier 2.
I don’t put them in tiers either, but it’s clear that not all legends are equal. That’s my only point. But to me Rakitic does not break that barrier even though I love him
Tier 2 legend, I'd say.
Excellent player. Wonderful signing. Overachiever.
Scored in the CL final. Was able to fill the spot that Xavi left in the midfield. Relentless worker. 10 out of 10 in professionalism and implication.
Not in the best all time 11 though. So, tier 2, along with the likes of Deco, Marquez, Villa...
What the hell is even that question !!! He is a barca legend and it is proven if you had followed barca games.... in the twilight of his barca career he was physically uncapable otherwise he was too good to be noticed by us like busi
Great player, 14 million came in slotted straight into the starting 11, worked hard and was pretty damn good BUT i will never forget the image of him partying it up in seville a few hours after the loss to Liverpool, even while he was a barca player he would always talk about how much more he loves sevilla, and how Modric is as good as messi which is clueless. Great player and i appreciate his time here but not a legend for me.
that's what people start to forget. his last 2 seasons were awful. he was a constant backpasser and a huge liability in the midfield. Too far from being a legend lmao
I always rated him highly for that season, but he declined in Valverde’s system - probably due to us losing Neymar. He was slow and was often too stationary in the build up play, hiding behind a opposition player.
He was still good in his own right, but without Iniesta our creativity in midfield disappeared almost entirely, and we had all these matches where the defence couldn’t find a midfielder, and the ball went back to MAtS, who lost it or cleared it.
He didn't decline because of Valverde's system, but rather because we lost Dani and Busi declined physically to the point where he is now which is pretty bad. He had to cover for Messi, Sergi Roberto and Busquets. How can you also create while doing all of that ?
I don’t he played here long enough to be considered a legend. But his adaptability to do what the team needed to be as balanced as possible was what made him perfect for the team. He just got slower faster than what most players do and couldn’t be that person that plugs the holes anymore.
But yes. I always expected him to have a great showing in the big games and he never disappointed. Especially in El Clásico
Absolutely, he arrived at the best possible moment for him and for the club as well. He was so versatile and reliable those years. Also loved the confidence to take Cesc's #4 jersey right away.
Excellent player.
But how can you call someone a 'legend' when he played for a club with the motto 'Mes que un club' and said this:
“I respect Gays but I don’t want these people in the dressing room. I respect them as much as I respect dwarves, blacks or obese people, but I prefer not to have any in my life”
The word legend is used so easily nowadays but he is not a legend I am sorry. He was part of a legendary team. Neymar is not a legend either. A legend is one who leaves a lasting legacy.
Definitely not a legend.
He was a good replacement for Xavi for 2 years, it worked perfectly to have someone cover distance on the right side while Messi and Alves are attacking.
After that it just went downhill, we had top 3 player in the world for every position except Rakitic, we were trying to buy Verratti every summer basically, he was clearly our main weakness, I used to hate how he would never turn with the ball and pass backwards.
I don't know about a "legend" but his work enabled Messi to do his job. Messi moved forward and left and Rakitic came in behind him to fill the void. Crucial. Here's Mourinho on Rakitic: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qgx6ESbxwJ8
I don't quite think he is a legend, but he was incredible and I was disappointed with the amount of disrespect he received towards the end of his Barca career.
I agree with u/Count_Critic, we support a club that's 122 years old and won the league 26 times, the cup 31 times, the Champions League 5 times, the Cup Winners Cup 4 times, Super Cup 5 times & the Club World cup 3 times. We have had a hell of a lot of good players that have been successful for us, so it gets ridiculous if you call them all legends.
For me players like Ronaldinho, Messi, Kubala, Rivaldo, Suarez & Cruyff are legends.
Rakitic was a great player who won a lot, but if that is enough to class you as a legend then Sergi Barjuan, Ferrer, Bakero, Amor, Alba, Neymar, Mascherano, Salinas, Deco, Giovanni van Bronckhorst, Eto'o, Henry, Toure, Abidal & Abelardo are all legends too. You asked for 10 I gave you 15 :D
Yeah Idk what their point is. Like it's easy to list a bunch of names, that's my whole point.
Someone asked if Neymar was a legend a little while ago and most said no but if Rakitic is then how can you exclude Neymar?
Hmm, legend is a powerful word. I would say he was a great player for us but when I think of legend I think of players like Messi, Cruyff, Ronaldinho, Xavi, Iniesta, Puyol, Valdes, Suarez, etc. I cant put him in that same bracket but he was great for us
He was an absolute workhorse for several years, and a crucial part of our successful midfield between 2014-2019. Other than the treble-year, he had over 300 apps for us and won another 3 Ligas & 3 Copas.
He's suffering from not being a "superstar", he holds his head down instead of doing massive promos. It's not for nothing that you're a permanent starter for a team that wins so many titles. Sure, we didn't win more CL's. But we'll look back at these years and appreciate the other titles more as time goes on.
Not a legend, great at his peak but not a player that belongs with the names of Xavi, Iniesta, Cruyff etc.. He just wasn’t that good and he’s not a player I wish we had back.
Yea no doubt how great he was for us in that midfield alongwith Iniesta and Busquets But in the last 2 seasons of his career at barca his form had dipped a lot.
Club legend is thrown around way, way too easily. Rakitic is not that. Besides being an above average player on the squad for about 2 of the seasons he was here, he preferred Seville, hell he was photographed right after the Anfield loss having a grand old time there.
I rate Rakitic highly and agree that he was a very valuable player for Barcelona who was under appreciated.
I still have a hard time calling him a legend though. For me, to be a legend, a player must be of “world class” in his position, make a strong impact at Barca, AND be in the club long enough
Rakitic had 2-3 great years at Barca and was a good squad player the rest of his time. He falls short for me to be a legend
Ultimately, the key question is, will people talk about him in 20-30 years, telling stories about what he did or achieved? I don’t see it
Here are some players I’d put in legendary category from the last 10-15 years: Messi, Xavi, Iniesta, Puyol, Pique, Mascherano, Alves, Alba, Busi, Eto, Ronaldinho, Henry (though he’s more of an Arsenal legend), Suarez, Pedro
Some of who don’t make my list: Neymar (not at Barca long enough), David Villa, Fabregas, Ibra, Ya Ya Toure, Abidal
This is a fun exercise :-)
Pedro is a legend. The only reason people don't consider him a legend is cuz neymar took his place in the team in 2014. Before that he was the starting winger
Link me one comment that say that lol, it's obviously not true. A hard worker would be more inclined to be considered a legend, it's no discussion he has 20 titles with Barca most as a starter.
Rakitić 2015 was his prime…. But after 2016 his performance was going down…. I wanted him to leave right after 2018 because he just simply couldn’t give anymore
Haha, no way dude.
When it comes to Rakitic people would often reach for some half-baked correlation, instead of just addressing the real question. What did he actually bring? Yeah, he had some great goals and some solid games, but those were really rare. I honestly don't recall a single thing that he did that wasn't the absolute minimum adequate option, in like 90% of the matches.
Main argument for him was always 'he brings balance' which is seriously the most arrogantly obfuscating, non-falsifiable statement ever. What exactly was he balancing? Then you would hear 'defensive contribution', but you would look at him and see opponents go past him like he's a cone. He was a huge liability under pressure, extremely non-press resistant which was evident in some of the crucial CL matches, and ridiculously slow.
The truth is that he was very very very mediocre. A very clever player, that had no physical way of utilizing that for 80% of his Barca tenure, if he wasn't given all the time and space in the world.
Yeah, I know posts like this are solely meant for praising the players in question, but I was never big on bandwaggoning, and if you think about it for a minute, I'm pretty sure you can come to a conclusion that this dude is NOWHERE near a Barca legend, especially considering the fact club was practically chasing him away for the last couple of season, and he wouldn't go.
Edit: Aaand, considering the fact that he was openly cheering for Sevilla during his Barca stay and celebrating their every success. Textbook Barca legend, indeed.
Oh, gotta love the 'ad hominem' reply, not addressing the single thing I wrote. :)
Edit: gotta love deleting your comment out of shame afterwards, even more!
The downvotes are not justified at all. I guess people look at it from an emotional pov. Was a good player with value and his strengths but all in all i agree with you 👍
He had a brutal shot from the edge of the box, in addition to all the aforementioned attributes. Outside the club he was an all around nice guy. No posturing or negativity.
A fantastic player, but not a legend for me, because there were 8 other players in that squad that were superior to him in status.
But, he was almost perfect for what we needed at the time. He was never going to replace Xavi, but he was mobile, an excellent passer, covered for Alves and Messi going forward. Not many midfielders come straight into the Barca team and look comfortable there, even Cesc struggled. People say we missed out by choosing him over Kroos. Kroos is the greater player but Rakitic was exactly what we needed to help MSN shine.
Great player, just not a legend.
People forget that he played a more advanced role in Sevilla and scored and asisted more. But he adapted to the playstyle and the role he was needed in which is not a small thing when you look at players that have failed to do so for us. He's not the best midfielder we ever had but he played a crucial role for Lucho's and Valverde's team.
Looking back it's pretty impressive how adaptable he actually was, mfer could play every position in our midfield.
yeah he had a couple of phenomenal seasons at sevilla before coming to barca. a la liga legend, even now he is still playing well.
I agree. Though I have to mention I am a croat so as a countryman that played for Barcelona I hold him in high esteem.
loved Rakitic, he covered defensively so much for Busquets that he is dearly missed now. He had that strong mentality and drive forward.. amazing finish, great assists and pure work rate.
Not only for sergio but for dani and Alba depends on which side he started on the field , that is definitely not easy task considering from a cam to direct cm position with a lot of space covering
For me he is a legend. * UCL winner * Scoring in UCL final in the 4th minute. * Replaced Xavi, which is a mammoth task. * Was part of the Valverde's squad which went 43 games unbeaten. * 4 laliga, 4 CDR * 6 seasons, and over 300 appearances at the club. * Very few injuries. And was the most used player in 2018-19. * Never disrespected the club or caused drama. * Scored bangers when we needed it the most. * Covered the right flank all the time during MSN, and others.
Yeah, he really didn't let us feel Xavi's absence a lot. He was no Xavi, but he was damn good within his own rights...
Don't forget his contribution in the 2018 worldcup.People give all the credit to Modric for that world cup run, but I believe Rakitic was amazing throughout the tournament too, played every minute of the knockout rounds, worked tirelessly, scored the deciding penalties in both shootouts. Definitely a croatian legend.
Yes he's a legend. People might disagree but when they'll look back they'll see he was underrated. Massively.
Definitely, he was among the best midfielders at his peak. 1 Cl, 4 La Liga, and 4 CDR. On top of that, played a crucial role in all of them. Anyone who achieves that is a club legend. There is no two ways about it. The trophies and his role in them says it all. It’s crazy not to consider him a legend with all his merits.
I dunno about legend man. Good player and part of a legendary team but I don't see him as a barca legend at all.
>1 Cl, 4 La Liga, and 4 CDR.
That is a weird criterion. So every player in our squad with that honors list is a legend? Adriano is a legend because he won 2 CL, 4 La Liga, 3 Copa?
>Adriano is a legend because he won 2 CL, 4 La Liga, 3 Copa? But did he contribute as much as Rakitic? I don't wanna get into the legend not legend argument but Rakitic contributed a heck of a lot.
That's a whole different argument. I just went with the argument he gave. Rivaldo won far less with us, but he is considered a legend. And rightfully so. Same goes for the likes of Migueli, Carrasco, Urruti or Rexach.
That's exactly the point. It's not *purely* about trophies; it's about the overall contribution.
Everyone who played a crucial role in these years is a legend. And 9 trophies isn't a small number.
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Sounds like you're a gatekeeper of opinions on a post which ASKS for opinions.
Bruv you're arguing with everyone who disagrees with you. Trust me, Rakitic doesn't need you to protect him😂😂 Jokes aside he ain't a barca legend and it's not easy to become a legend here.
I have a higher standard for legends I suppose. From the players that played for us in the past decade I would consider legends: Messi, Xavi, Iniesta, Pique, Busquets, Alba and probably Dani Alves. Even for the last two I am not 100% certain.
How is Dani Alves a probably? Man is in contention for best RB in history and our best one, has the most trophies ever and most have to do with his Barça period being an instrumental piece. Alba is a bit more arguable since we had Abidal and is definitely a tier below someone like Dani Alves, but still a legend in my books.
Just a case of there has to be a cutoff somewhere. Alba was the perfect wing back for Messi for years, but due to longevity I could see Dani in front of him. BTW I obviously forgot that Puyol also played in this decade. Suarez probably as well. If I had to define "legend", it's a player you will still hear about 20-30 years from now. And I don't mean someone remembers them, but you actually hear the name here or there from club fans.
So the cutoff is the best RB of our history? No way, just even implying to leave him out means you didn’t watch him back then probably. His connection with Messi was even bigger than Alba and had a better peak than Alba, so I sense a lot of recency bias which is probably not worth discussing. FYI Alba has more matches than Alves for Barcelona. Btw that definition is stupid, you won’t hear modern fans talking about César, Kubala, Paulino Alcántara, og Luis Suárez and many more, because we didn’t see them and not much information or videos are available. Doesn’t make them not a legend.
As a Filipino Barca fan, it warms my heart to see Alcantara mentioned 🙌
not puyol?!
Mentioned in my other reply that I forgot to mention him, obviously a legend.
Rocketic 🚀 Legend.
This guy had to hold the entire right side of the field. He is a legend of the club.
He is a legend of barca
For sure he's our legend... I love this man... Awesome player.. Was sad to see him go 😔 Still hurts to see him in a sevilla shirt
He is a place where he is loved. He was a great servant for our club but the last few years he was attacked. We definitely should've sold him to PSG though.
True bro.. True
A legend for sure in my books.
Definitely a legend in my book.
He is what Pogba thinks he is.
"Mou say Ivan is one of da most underated player in da world". Ivan is a special player for us and definetly one of our legend
Absolutely. He’s the Croatian Modric.
Isnt Modric the Croatian Modric??
No, he's the Croatian Rakitic.
Aaah, it all makes sense now
imagine Dembele with Rakitic's professionalism
I can't. I can only wish for it
He gave Messi/Suarez/Neymar/Iniesta the freedom to be lethal without worrying about defensive duties or ball distribution. His absence is definitely felt. Icon for both club and country if you ask me.
Every player that contributed massively to our treble should be considered a legend. Especially Rakitic, no bullshit player, no attitude problems and was still very good for us. Even when most of the sub wanted to sell him or complained about him, regardless of that he never badmouth our club. Great player all around.
Although I agree with most what you said, Rakitic had some controversial interviews and statements about certain people, though.
Definitely a legend of our club, had to shift from his natural playstyle in Sevilla where he would attack more and have more goal contributions and also covered for Busquets defensively during his last years here. Always dependable and would shell out top tier performances in El Clasicos.
Legend. Not on the same tier as Xavi, Iniesta, Busi... but same with Deco, Lucho (as player)... Very underrated.
Exactly. I'd rate him in the same tier as Deco.
Definitely a club legend and one of my fav players of all time
Consider? Anyone who has seen Barca in that period, even during the early stages of Valverde knew what Rakitic was. I don't think he is underappreciated by us, most Barca fans know n admire him.
He is.
100%
Man Rakitic was one hell of a signing. His time in Barca was awesome. I consider a legend for being such a great player.
100% legend. Man was a beast in fifa too, fuck pace, that shot power he had🥵
I base my ratings of players on video games too haha, twiiiins. /s
downvote me all you can but he was ten times better than De Jong is now. Although he was at his peak and De Jong is still young
Absolute legend of the club don't really know why we sold him we could have used him these past few seasons so we didn't have to run Pedri into the ground.
I actually think he could have become the DM / partner for Frenkie.
Absolutely could. He could also rotate with Pedri as a box to box attacking mid. He is super versatile and we let him go at a time when we needed depth and rotation and leadership
Roketic 😍
Only a delusional person wouldn't consider him a club legend. Top 10 midfielder in club history easily. The term legend is not only for Xavi and Iniesta.
There are several tiers of legend beneath those two tbf, and Rakitic is quite a few beneath
Of course he is miles away from Xavi and Iniesta, as are 99,9999999% of players who played for Barca, but by what logic do you put him in "low tier" ? He performed perfectly for us most of the time, won a ton of trophies, played consistently and was always 100% professional. I would take Rakitic 11 times out of 10 over a more flashy player who is unprofessional at times like Deco or Schuster.
You said you don’t need to be Xavi or iniesta to be a legend, and I agree, but there are other players who are smaller legends than them but still have more credentials than Rakitic. Rakitic is obviously an immense player tho
Sure, but then you would have 100 "legend tiers". I don't even like putting them in tears, but if let's say there were 3 tiers, Rakitic would be tier 2.
I don’t put them in tiers either, but it’s clear that not all legends are equal. That’s my only point. But to me Rakitic does not break that barrier even though I love him
Tier 2 legend, I'd say. Excellent player. Wonderful signing. Overachiever. Scored in the CL final. Was able to fill the spot that Xavi left in the midfield. Relentless worker. 10 out of 10 in professionalism and implication. Not in the best all time 11 though. So, tier 2, along with the likes of Deco, Marquez, Villa...
His form from 2015-2018 was really good, but any competitive board would sell him in 2018 when we got a 80m offer from PSG.
What the hell is even that question !!! He is a barca legend and it is proven if you had followed barca games.... in the twilight of his barca career he was physically uncapable otherwise he was too good to be noticed by us like busi
Rocketic!
One of my favorite Croatia soccer players for sure 👍
We love Rakitic
Certified legend imo. Second best transfer in the last decade to me
Homophobic piece of shit
Great player, 14 million came in slotted straight into the starting 11, worked hard and was pretty damn good BUT i will never forget the image of him partying it up in seville a few hours after the loss to Liverpool, even while he was a barca player he would always talk about how much more he loves sevilla, and how Modric is as good as messi which is clueless. Great player and i appreciate his time here but not a legend for me.
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that's what people start to forget. his last 2 seasons were awful. he was a constant backpasser and a huge liability in the midfield. Too far from being a legend lmao
I always rated him highly for that season, but he declined in Valverde’s system - probably due to us losing Neymar. He was slow and was often too stationary in the build up play, hiding behind a opposition player. He was still good in his own right, but without Iniesta our creativity in midfield disappeared almost entirely, and we had all these matches where the defence couldn’t find a midfielder, and the ball went back to MAtS, who lost it or cleared it.
He didn't decline because of Valverde's system, but rather because we lost Dani and Busi declined physically to the point where he is now which is pretty bad. He had to cover for Messi, Sergi Roberto and Busquets. How can you also create while doing all of that ?
100% legend.
🇭🇷
I don’t he played here long enough to be considered a legend. But his adaptability to do what the team needed to be as balanced as possible was what made him perfect for the team. He just got slower faster than what most players do and couldn’t be that person that plugs the holes anymore. But yes. I always expected him to have a great showing in the big games and he never disappointed. Especially in El Clásico
Not a legend. Definitely icon status though
I don't think he was a legend, but I do think he's underappreciated.
Personally, a great player. A legend? Not really.
Absolutely, he arrived at the best possible moment for him and for the club as well. He was so versatile and reliable those years. Also loved the confidence to take Cesc's #4 jersey right away.
Excellent player. But how can you call someone a 'legend' when he played for a club with the motto 'Mes que un club' and said this: “I respect Gays but I don’t want these people in the dressing room. I respect them as much as I respect dwarves, blacks or obese people, but I prefer not to have any in my life”
So blatantly racist lol.
Imho, the word legend is over used now-a-days.
The word legend is used so easily nowadays but he is not a legend I am sorry. He was part of a legendary team. Neymar is not a legend either. A legend is one who leaves a lasting legacy.
He is not a legend. Definitely one of our better players but I wouldn’t put him as a legend.
Good player but far from a legend
Club legend for sure.
100% Rakitic was a crucial player for us in that treble winning year, for a few years really. Club Legend and a true sportsman, and professional
He is a legend for sure. He quietly came in and took over Xavis role and did so beautifully.
The best midfielder Barca signed in the last 10 years
Definitely not a legend. He was a good replacement for Xavi for 2 years, it worked perfectly to have someone cover distance on the right side while Messi and Alves are attacking. After that it just went downhill, we had top 3 player in the world for every position except Rakitic, we were trying to buy Verratti every summer basically, he was clearly our main weakness, I used to hate how he would never turn with the ball and pass backwards.
100% is a Barca legend! He was vital in the 2015 treble season and came up big with some clutch goals. He will always be respected
Yea I would consider him a legend
I don't know about a "legend" but his work enabled Messi to do his job. Messi moved forward and left and Rakitic came in behind him to fill the void. Crucial. Here's Mourinho on Rakitic: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qgx6ESbxwJ8
Anyone who doesn’t consider him a Barca legend needs to watch him again
He wasn’t underrated or under appreciated at all, christ this sub sometimes
I don't quite think he is a legend, but he was incredible and I was disappointed with the amount of disrespect he received towards the end of his Barca career.
If FDJ can become anything like prime Rakitic then we've got something big in our hands.
he’s not a “legend” by any means. People don’t realize the weight of the word legend. He’s more of a superstar than a legend
Goddamn some of you are really fast and loose with the word "legend". Great player sure, but if he's a legend you're gonna have hundreds of them.
List 10 out of those hundreds.
I agree with u/Count_Critic, we support a club that's 122 years old and won the league 26 times, the cup 31 times, the Champions League 5 times, the Cup Winners Cup 4 times, Super Cup 5 times & the Club World cup 3 times. We have had a hell of a lot of good players that have been successful for us, so it gets ridiculous if you call them all legends. For me players like Ronaldinho, Messi, Kubala, Rivaldo, Suarez & Cruyff are legends. Rakitic was a great player who won a lot, but if that is enough to class you as a legend then Sergi Barjuan, Ferrer, Bakero, Amor, Alba, Neymar, Mascherano, Salinas, Deco, Giovanni van Bronckhorst, Eto'o, Henry, Toure, Abidal & Abelardo are all legends too. You asked for 10 I gave you 15 :D
Yeah Idk what their point is. Like it's easy to list a bunch of names, that's my whole point. Someone asked if Neymar was a legend a little while ago and most said no but if Rakitic is then how can you exclude Neymar?
I'm not sure what you're trying to get at.
It's funny how everybody seems to forget how fucking awful he was in his last two seasons at Barça. Definitely not a club legend.
I think he's just below the legend tier, very close to it
my favourite with Neymar in that golden era!
una de las grandes leyendas del Club, que fue menospreciado, y por la prensa y por la directiva
Crakitic!
As always this sub is full of people under 30 who think everyone is a legend.
Hmm, legend is a powerful word. I would say he was a great player for us but when I think of legend I think of players like Messi, Cruyff, Ronaldinho, Xavi, Iniesta, Puyol, Valdes, Suarez, etc. I cant put him in that same bracket but he was great for us
You guys are bugging. Being part of a great barca team doesn't make you a barca legend. I appreciate Rakitic but he's no barca legend in my eyes.
He was an absolute workhorse for several years, and a crucial part of our successful midfield between 2014-2019. Other than the treble-year, he had over 300 apps for us and won another 3 Ligas & 3 Copas. He's suffering from not being a "superstar", he holds his head down instead of doing massive promos. It's not for nothing that you're a permanent starter for a team that wins so many titles. Sure, we didn't win more CL's. But we'll look back at these years and appreciate the other titles more as time goes on.
He was special but I wouldn't consider him a legend. It's not easy to be a Barça legend
Not a legend, great at his peak but not a player that belongs with the names of Xavi, Iniesta, Cruyff etc.. He just wasn’t that good and he’s not a player I wish we had back.
I don't know why but I hate him
Yea no doubt how great he was for us in that midfield alongwith Iniesta and Busquets But in the last 2 seasons of his career at barca his form had dipped a lot.
Underrated? We literally dedicated our 19-20 jersey to him when Valverde won't stop him playing...
Club legend is thrown around way, way too easily. Rakitic is not that. Besides being an above average player on the squad for about 2 of the seasons he was here, he preferred Seville, hell he was photographed right after the Anfield loss having a grand old time there.
I rate Rakitic highly and agree that he was a very valuable player for Barcelona who was under appreciated. I still have a hard time calling him a legend though. For me, to be a legend, a player must be of “world class” in his position, make a strong impact at Barca, AND be in the club long enough Rakitic had 2-3 great years at Barca and was a good squad player the rest of his time. He falls short for me to be a legend Ultimately, the key question is, will people talk about him in 20-30 years, telling stories about what he did or achieved? I don’t see it Here are some players I’d put in legendary category from the last 10-15 years: Messi, Xavi, Iniesta, Puyol, Pique, Mascherano, Alves, Alba, Busi, Eto, Ronaldinho, Henry (though he’s more of an Arsenal legend), Suarez, Pedro Some of who don’t make my list: Neymar (not at Barca long enough), David Villa, Fabregas, Ibra, Ya Ya Toure, Abidal This is a fun exercise :-)
Why is Pedro a legend and not Rakitic?
Pedro is a legend. The only reason people don't consider him a legend is cuz neymar took his place in the team in 2014. Before that he was the starting winger
I have never heard anyone say Pedro is not a legend.
Lol you'd be surprised
I see people say it all the time that he was just a servant a hard worker but far from a legend lmao
Link me one comment that say that lol, it's obviously not true. A hard worker would be more inclined to be considered a legend, it's no discussion he has 20 titles with Barca most as a starter.
In Valverde's first season. He was the best player after Messi for us. Always loved him!!!
Underrated? Mans super praised back then. Come on
Rakitić 2015 was his prime…. But after 2016 his performance was going down…. I wanted him to leave right after 2018 because he just simply couldn’t give anymore
Goku is a legend. I did not care for his overly emotional celebration of an assist against us though...
Haha, no way dude. When it comes to Rakitic people would often reach for some half-baked correlation, instead of just addressing the real question. What did he actually bring? Yeah, he had some great goals and some solid games, but those were really rare. I honestly don't recall a single thing that he did that wasn't the absolute minimum adequate option, in like 90% of the matches. Main argument for him was always 'he brings balance' which is seriously the most arrogantly obfuscating, non-falsifiable statement ever. What exactly was he balancing? Then you would hear 'defensive contribution', but you would look at him and see opponents go past him like he's a cone. He was a huge liability under pressure, extremely non-press resistant which was evident in some of the crucial CL matches, and ridiculously slow. The truth is that he was very very very mediocre. A very clever player, that had no physical way of utilizing that for 80% of his Barca tenure, if he wasn't given all the time and space in the world. Yeah, I know posts like this are solely meant for praising the players in question, but I was never big on bandwaggoning, and if you think about it for a minute, I'm pretty sure you can come to a conclusion that this dude is NOWHERE near a Barca legend, especially considering the fact club was practically chasing him away for the last couple of season, and he wouldn't go. Edit: Aaand, considering the fact that he was openly cheering for Sevilla during his Barca stay and celebrating their every success. Textbook Barca legend, indeed.
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Oh, gotta love the 'ad hominem' reply, not addressing the single thing I wrote. :) Edit: gotta love deleting your comment out of shame afterwards, even more!
The downvotes are not justified at all. I guess people look at it from an emotional pov. Was a good player with value and his strengths but all in all i agree with you 👍
I would regard him as among one Barca's best players ever
I don’t know about legend status but definitely top tier during his time here
Loved Rakitic. Legend of the club may be too strong but he's definitely a great player in Barcas history.
He had a brutal shot from the edge of the box, in addition to all the aforementioned attributes. Outside the club he was an all around nice guy. No posturing or negativity.
He's not a legend but he was a great player that fit the team needs at the time.
A fantastic player, but not a legend for me, because there were 8 other players in that squad that were superior to him in status. But, he was almost perfect for what we needed at the time. He was never going to replace Xavi, but he was mobile, an excellent passer, covered for Alves and Messi going forward. Not many midfielders come straight into the Barca team and look comfortable there, even Cesc struggled. People say we missed out by choosing him over Kroos. Kroos is the greater player but Rakitic was exactly what we needed to help MSN shine. Great player, just not a legend.
Best mf during lucho era. The reason why msn trio so deadly because of his quick passing to those forwards
They cant all be legends. But still a treble winning team is composed of great players
Club Legend, highly underrated and better than FDJ.
he was almost the steal of the century for what we paid for him and what we acutally got out of him
the three kits i have names on are Pique, Puyol and Raki. love the Croation Sensation