Sevilla midfielder Ivan Rakitic says learning from Barcelona greats Lionel Messi, Xavi and Andres Iniesta was a special experience.

The Croatian will hope to use his experience to help the team through, and much of that was gained through working with bonafide footballing legends in Catalonia.

"The hunger they had was incredible," he says of the Barcelona side he joined in 2014. "I was lucky enough to spend a year working with Xavi, many years with Andres Iniesta and I even built a relationship outside of football with them.

"I learned from those guys on the field, of course, but especially off the field, seeing them every day made me think 'There's a reason they are the best.'

"I joined a team that was really good, and they knew it. But if I could contribute, even just a little bit to them, my way of experiencing football, of playing it, I knew that I would achieve a lot. How would I do it? Have incredible dedication like they have."