The day that Ivan Rakitic grew apart from Barcelona teammates

The day that Ivan Rakitic grew apart from Barcelona teammates

La arrancada de Rakitic desde campo propio que casi terminó en gol / | MEDIAPRO

The Croatian's relationship with his teammates hasn't been the same since Anfield

That Liverpool loss did a lot of damage. And still is. And it's possible that it will continue to do so inside Barcelona for a long time. But not just in terms of fans and the club, but also in terms of the relationships inside the dressing room. There are still some players, as the fans were, that are annoyed that Ivan Rakitic, after the disaster of Anfield, went to the Feria de Sevilla. 

"No one liked that," one of the players told his agent. "At that moment, the last thing we all needed was an image of one of us in Seville." Rakitic was even photographed with Jose Maria del Nido Carrasco, the son of the former Sevilla president. Rakitic, through his entourage, replied on the attack: "Do you want to kill Rakitic? Let Valverde explain who's  been going out to party all year." 

Pie de foto | AUTOR FOTO

Obviously, it didn't sit well in the club because no one could imagine that, after a debacle of that size, anyone would take advantage of a day off to go to a party. But that's what happened. 

Since that day, which was a point of inflexion, the relationship between the Croatian and those in charge of the club has been much colder than it was. But also with some of his teammates, who feel that the image didn't only upset the fans, but all of the dressing room. Despite that, Rakitic wanted to clear up, in his way, events. 

"I have no problem apologising," he said. "But I am a father and a husband and, for me, the family is the most important. I went to Seville to be with them." 

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