Barcelona Player Grades For 2016-17: Ivan Rakitic
By Laieke Abebe
Croatian midfielder Ivan Rakitic has seen his fair share of ups and downs, but how was his 2016-17 season with Barcelona?
The midfield has been a key talking point for most Barca fans. For Ivan Rakitic, his season was filled with transfer rumors and lots of outside conversation on a potential departure. However, his 2017 season with Barcelona got off to an OK start leading to some of that talk beings slowed. He had some really good matches at times with the Blaugrana.
The Croatian has seen his best moments and had fun moments at times this season. Despite that, he also had some tough moments as the matches and months went on. So how did Ivan Rakitic do this season? Is there any room for concern when it comes to the former Sevilla midfielder? With that in mind, here are some of the numbers from Ivan Rakitic this season.
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According to whoscored.com, Rakitic tallied nine goals and five assists in 51 appearances across all competitions for Barca. For a midfielder, those numbers aren’t that bad. However, he was inconsistent at times. There were matches that Rakitic didn’t play well. He was subbed for against Juventus in the second leg of Barca’s Champions League exit. Despite that, he did play well in some matches too. For example, he got a goal and an assist again Real Madrid in the second El Clasico.
Next: Player Grades 2016-17: Umtiti
Overall, Rakitic has some room for improvement going into next season. With a change in managers, maybe Ernesto Valverde looks to Rakitic like Lucho did. The Croatian has come up big in big games like the 2015 Champions League final scoring a goal within the first four minutes. He still has a few of those left in him. It’s up to the Barca board to trust in the man they signed from Sevilla.