Last summer saw a changing of the guard at Barcelona. Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba left the club after long, successful spells, with both players ending up at Inter Miami alongside Lionel Messi (and now Luis Suarez).
It can be argued that Barcelona are missing the experience of Busquets and Alba, as well as others such as Gerard Pique (who retired last season) and Messi himself. This is an area that Real Madrid have done better than their Clasico rivals, at least that’s what Ivan Rakitic – formerly of the Blaugrana – told Marca.
“Real Madrid have done everything well, little by little. Modric and Kroos are still there leading the team. Maybe Barcelona have gone too fast.
“I’m convinced Gavi and Pedri are going to be the future of Barcelona and Spanish football, but I think that help from us – the old people, as they have called us – would have been good for them. I’m convinced that all those kids like Bellingham and company greatly appreciate the daily learning they have with Luka and Toni.”
There’s little doubt that Jude Bellingham, Aurelien Tchouameni, Eduardo Camavinga and Federico Valverde will have learned so much from Kroos and Modric during their time at Real Madrid, and this will serve them well for now and the future. Rakitic may have a point that Barcelona’s youngsters could benefit from similar, although they are doing pretty well by themselves.