Iván Rakitic, former FC Barcelona player, has revealed one of the club’s biggest secrets. In a recent interview, the Croatian admitted that the team did not reach its full potential due to "a lack of motivation and excessive confidence."

During his six seasons at the Catalan club, Rakitic was part of a team that won numerous titles, including a Champions League and several La Liga titles. However, the midfielder confessed that the team "let itself be carried away by boredom and overconfidence," which led to painful defeats.

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"The loss against Roma and Liverpool was due to a lack of intensity. We felt too superior, and that took a toll on us. If we had kept the hunger to win, we could have won one or two more Champions League titles," he said, referring to the debacles in the 2017-18 and 2018-19 seasons.

Rakitic also mentioned that the lack of ambition in the locker room was one of the biggest problems during those years. "We failed to stay focused and think only about football. Many times we were distracted by other things," he stated.

Despite the great quality of the team, which included players like Messi, Neymar, Suárez, and Iniesta, Rakitic regrets that they didn’t win more important titles in Europe. He pointed out that the 2015 Barcelona team, under the management of Luis Enrique, was one of the best he has ever seen, but they could have won more if they had maintained their focus.

The Croatian also did not shy away from discussing the difference between Barcelona and their great rival, Real Madrid, in terms of European titles. "Madrid has managed to maintain that hunger in every competition, while we, at times, dropped our level, and that cost us dearly," he concluded.