The Croatian national Ivan Rakitic was very kind to his teammate Luka Modric. In his opinion, the midfielder deserves to win the Golden Ball this year. Rakitic also talks about his decision to continue playing for his national team. Luque is currently the influential figure in La Liga. He is the best player in the world this year and we Croatians are very proud of him. I wish him to win this final prize (Golden Ball) because he deserves it. Those who envy him, let them die of envy! I`m proud of him and I`m just as happy as if I were the one who won all those awards. Together we have been in the national team for 11 years. We have gone through many things. I love him as my brother. I`m glad he decided to stay on the national team. I do not know what my decision would be if he gave up.'
'Yes, I was thinking about dropping out of the national team. I was thinking a lot, talking to the breeder, even more with my wife just to realize that my desire t o play for Croatia is stronger than anything else. It was hard to say goodbye. My heart took the decision. There is no better thing in the world than playing Croatia and putting my hand on my heart while listening to the national anthem. So I can not wait to join the team for the match mentioned by livescore soccer with Spain. Croatia still has great young players, but we do not have to put pressure on them to replace Mario Mandzukic, Danijel Subasic, and Vedran Corluka at the moment. Of course we will be missing, but we must allow these young talents to write their personal history with the Croatian team!', Rakitic told the local New List.
