Has Ivan Rakitic fallen out of favour at Barcelona?

Has Ivan Rakitic fallen out of favour at Barcelona?

He has not played a league game since the Clasico and won't play against Villarreal, either

FC Barcelona travelled to Villarreal on Sunday morning ahead of Sunday's important league game with Ivan Rakitic's absence the big surprise.

The Croatian midfielder has been left in Barcelona for technical reasons, given he has no fitness problems. Initially, his exclusion could be a sporting plan and due to the need to introduce rotations (as ocurred with Denis Suarez in the Copa in midweek) to ensure the squad remains fresh and to share out minutes in a balanced manner. 

However, looking at the numbers, Rakitic's reality is very different to last season. He has stopped being one of the regulars in Luis Enrique's side and is now the most substituted. 

Rakitic seems to be paying for the increased competition in midfield, where he's lost his place most often to Andre Gomes. For example, Rakitic has not played one minute of league football since Dec. 3, when he was taken off after 60 minutes in the Clasico. 

Here is his participation since then: 

  • 3/12/2016 FC Barcelona - Real Madrid (Liga, 1-1) 60 minutes
  • 6/12/2016 FC Barcelona - Bor. M'gladbach (Champions, 4-0) suspended
  • 10/12/2016 Osasuna - FC Barcelona (Liga, 0-3) unused sub
  • 18/12/2016 FC Barcelona - FC Barcelona (Liga, 4-1) unused sub
  • 21/12/2016 FC Barcelona - Hércules (Copa, 7-0) 90 minutes
  • 5/1/2017 Athletic Club - FC Barcelona (Copa, 2-1) 71 minutes
  • 8/1/2017 Villarreal - FC Barcelona (Liga) not in the squad 

It's worth remembering that Rakitic is one of the players expected to renew his contract this year, as the club have already revealed. 

Topics with the letter