Al-Shabab midfielder Rakitic: Messi not best Barcelona captain; we lost our hunger

Al-Shabab midfielder Ivan Rakitic admits former Barcelona teammate Leo Messi wasn't a great captain.

Rakitic says Messi wasn't good at leading his teammates.

He told Micspod: "I don't have to explain to Messi how to play. I have to know where to put myself in attack so that I have a more advantageous situation. He doesn't have to defend, that's my job.

"He could be the best left back in the world if he wanted."

But Rakitic reveals that the Argentine was not the "best captain to tell you what you had to do, because he was unique, different".

He also said: "We lost the Champions in 2018 and 2019 ourselves.

"Of course the rivals deserved it, but I think we didn't try hard enough. We may have gotten tired of winning. When you earn so much, you lose focus and don't pay attention to detail, and then they kill you."