FORMER Barcelona midfielder Ivan Rakitic has revealed he used to tease Lionel Messi about the one trophy he will never win.
Rakitic, 32, returned to Sevilla last summer six years after he had moved away to join Barcelona.
Messi and Rakitic were teammates for six years until the Croatian returned to Sevilla last yearCredit: EPA
And during his time with Messi at the Catalan club Rakitic would jokingly wind the Argentinian up by insisting he would never be able to win the Europa League.
Speaking to AS, he said: “I was talking to Messi and I told him ‘You have won everything, you have scored many goals. But I have won a trophy that you will never have, the Europa League’.”
Rakitic won the Europa League in his final season with Sevilla before joining Barca in 2014.
Upon his arrival at the Nou Camp, the Croatian was blown away by the dedication of Messi and other Barca stars such as Xavi and Iniesta.
“When I arrived at Barcelona, the hunger that these players had was incredible,” he added.
“I was lucky to spend a year training with Xavi, and as many with Iniesta. I learned from them on and off the pitch.
“Those people were given nothing. They earned all their success. It is not a coincidence that they won everything.
FREE BETS: GET OVER £2,000 IN SIGN UP OFFERS HERE
“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 (final in 2015), we said to each other ‘If we stick together, no one will beat us.”
Rakitic won the Champions League in his first season at Barcelona, scoring in the final in a 3-1 victory over Juventus.
He also won four LaLiga titles and four Copa del Reys with Barca and reached the World Cup final with Croatia in 2018.
Lionel Messi’s emotional Barcelona celebration during win over Sevilla as fans say he will not quit beloved club
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
