'For me, Neymar's departure was really hard'

In an interview with the 'BBC', Rakitic admitted that he misses Neymar's presence both on and off the pitch. 

"For me personally, it was really hard, not only because he's one of the biggest players; also, for me, he's a big person," the Croatian said.

"He was really important for our dressing room, and for me he's one of the best guys I know in football.

"So for me it was really a bad decision because I liked to have him in my team."

However, Rakitic understands that he must respect Neymar's decision to leave the Nou Camp and hopes he will be a success in Paris.

Rakitic added: "If a team can buy him and he decides to leave Barcelona, we have to respect it and [...] wish him the best [of] luck.

"Hopefully he can score a lot of goals and be happy in Paris, but we have to go on our way and be strong together without Neymar now."