Ivan Rakitic believes Barcelona will be crowned LaLiga champions if the season cannot be finished due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Quique Setien’s men were top of the table by two points with 11 games to play when LaLiga was suspended last month because of Covid-19.
Rakitic feels Barca should be crowned league winners if they are top and the season is called off, even with rivals Real Madrid just two points adrift.
‘We all want to play again and to win the league by playing,’ he told Movistar+.
‘I also understand that if we can’t go back somehow, the season will have to end. If we are at the top then we will have to be the champions, but deadlines must be exhausted.
‘The ideal scenario would be to finish whenever, but always with a well-made plan, especially considering next season too.’
Out of contract in 2021, Rakitic has been linked with a move away from Camp Nou amid interest from elsewhere.
The Croatia international insisted he was content at Barcelona, saying: ‘I don’t want to give the feeling of being angry or anything like that. It’s not like that.
‘I’m calm and happy where I am, but of course there are two sides and we want to do things well.’
Rakitic had previously suggested he was with unhappy with Barcelona after remaining at the club through the January transfer window despite becoming a fringe player this season.
‘There have been several things that I did not like,’ Rakitic said in February. ‘I say it very clearly.
‘We know there are people who make decisions but here we are not to laugh or enjoy.
‘In the end the best thing for the club has to be what is good. We must accept not to understand some things.’
However, Setien was unaware of any desire to leave from Rakitic and in a recent interview said he had been pleased with the player’s performances this season.
‘I have no information that Rakitic wants to leave the club and he has not transmitted that to me. And with me he has played a lot and can continue doing it,’ he told El Larguero on Thursday.
‘I am happy with his performance and have nothing to say. We have to wait to see what happens and if he wants to leave or not. And if I have to say it, the time will come.’
