UEFA Super Cup: Barcelona vs Sevilla - Rakitic Confident Of Barca Victory

Ivan Rakitic believes Barcelona are in good shape to begin their season with victory in the UEFA Super Cup over his former club Sevilla.

Barcelona midfielder Ivan Rakitic is full of confidence that his side can claim the first trophy of a possible sextuple when they face Sevilla in Tuesday's UEFA Super Cup in Tbilisi.

Spain's strength in European club football was underlined by the respective successes of Barca and Sevilla in the Champions League and Europa League finals at the end of last season.

Barca Will Win When It Matters - Ivan Rakitic

Ivan Rakitic has played down Barcelona's pre-season losing streak by stressing the team will get results when it matters.

Two goals from Federico Bernardeschi consigned Luis Enrique's men to a 2-1 defeat at Fiorentina on Sunday, meaning they have now lost three games in a row.

Rakitic, who provided a great assist for Luis Suarez's goal, attempted to take positives from the match and is certain the club will soon return to winning ways.

Ronaldo Is Great But Messi Is Unique - Ivan Rakitic

Ivan Rakitic feels that while Cristiano Ronaldo is "a great", Lionel Messi is a truly "unique" talent who stands head and shoulders above every other player on the planet. Ronaldo and Messi have been shortlisted for this year's Ballon d'Or along with Germany goalkeeper Manuel Neuer.

Ronaldo has broken a succession of goalscoring records in helping Real Madrid win the Champions League, the Club World Cup and the Copa del Rey over the past 12 months, while Neuer won the double with Bayern Munich before playing a key role in his country's triumph at Brazil 2014.

BARCELONA: This Is The Way To Win - Luis Enrique

The Camp Nou was once again a scene of an offensive and defensive clinic, with Barça head coach Luis Enrique once again highlighting the team's work ethic and commitment. “I thought we were intense, precise, ambitious, and solid on defence," the coach declared after his teams 6-0 blowout win over Granada.

The team were lead by Neymar's hat-trick, two scores from Messi, and another by Rakitic, along with yet another outstanding defensive performance. “The players really did well tonight stopping the other team," he said before adding, “This is the way to win."

WOW!!! Barcelona Spent A Whopping €157.25 million To Sign Seven Players

Following last year's Neymar saga, Barcelona have opted for total transparency this summer, publicly disclosing their transfer spending through a press conference led by director of football Andoni Zubizarreta and vice-president Jordi Mestre. The 'Azulgranas' forked out a grand total of €157.25 million in basic fees to bring in seven players, a figure that could swell to €171.25m if all €14m of potential add-ons are triggered.

The club's marquee summer signing, Luis Suárez, cost €81.25m. The next most expensive deal was for French centre-back Jérémy Mathieu, at €20m, followed by Croatian midfielder Ivan Rakitic (€18m + €3m in extras) and the two new goalkeepers at €12m a pop.

Cesc Fabregas’s Move To Chelsea Will Be Confirmed Once Barcelona Buy Ivan Rakitic

Transfer merry go-round is in full swing in Barcelona and Chelsea look likely to be the beneficiaries.
Catalan paper El Mundo Deportivo report on Wednesday that once Ivan Rakitic has signed officially for Barcelona, Cesc Fabregas’ move to Chelsea will be confirmed.

Barcelona have been in negotiations with Sevilla for the past few days and the signing of Rakitic appears to be imminent. The only hold-up to the deal currently is the loan move of Barcelona B midfielder Denis Suarez to Sevilla.

El Mundo Deportivo confirm that Chelsea’s move for Fabregas is agreed. They will sign the former Arsenal captain for 33 million euros and 3 million in variables, depending on the performance of the player back in England.