Ivan Rakitic lives a sweet second stage at Sevilla. With the Seville club, the Croatian has regained prominence as well as confidence, in addition to the pleasant performance that he has always shown. An example of this is the role he enjoys with Julen Lopetegui on the Sevilla bench. A clear example was his figure during the first leg of the Copa del Rey semifinals against Barcelona, complying, of course, with the 'Law of the Ex', scoring the 2-0 goal.
The Croatian, in an interview with 'LaLiga TV', He confessed to feeling truly privileged for having shared a dressing room with players of the stature of Xavi, Iniesta or Messi during his time as a Barcelona player. “When I arrived at Barcelona, the hunger those players had was incredible. I was lucky enough to spend a year training with Xavi, and as many with Iniesta. I learned from them on and off the field“Rakitic noted.
“Nothing was given to those people. They earned all their success. It is not a coincidence that they have won everything. Each player had a role to play. And each one did things in their own way, but always to win. In Berlin, before the Champions League (in which Rakitic scored one of the goals), we said to each other 'If we stick together, no one will beat us,' “added the Croatian footballer.
In turn, Rakitic wanted to reveal one of his anecdotes with Messi and what he told him once in reference to the titles that both have. “I was talking to Messi and I said 'You have won everything, you have scored a lot of goals. But I have won a trophy that you will never have, the Europa League“, said the now Sevilla footballer with a laugh.
On the other hand, in his interview with 'LaLiga TV', He also talked about his relationship with Unai Emery, with whom he coincided in one of the best times in the history of Seville. “I had a wonderful relationship with him. I think that season (2013-14) we started with 15/16 new players. We were lucky to get into the Europa League despite finishing ninth. It was important to have a coach like him, who told us that the biggest or strongest team doesn't always have to win. We believed in that philosophy and thanks to their way of working we became strong “, he pointed out.