Ivan Rakitic is infallible. The FC Barcelona midfielder does not know what it means to lose a single-game final with FC Barcelona. Since he arrived at the Club ahead of the 2014/15 season, Barça have played in seven single-game finals: four in the Copa del Rey, one in the UEFA Champions League, one in the UEFA Super Cup, and one in the FIFA Club World Cup. In each and every one of them, the Croatian midfielder has been an integral element in the team’s lineups, while Barça has gone on to win the championship every single time.
In fact, Rakitic has been a starter in every one of those finals, in which he has been one of the go-to players for Luis Enrique, when he was the manager, as well as current head coach Ernesto Valverde. Rakitic has played 545 of the 630 total possible minutes (87%) in the aforementioned finals.
But while Rakitic is one of just three players unbeaten in the seven finals, he is the only one to have played in all seven of them. Barça’s Uruguayan striker Luis Suárez and the German goalkeeper Marc-André ter Stegen have won all seven of the finals as well, but Suárez missed the Copa del Rey final last season due to suspension, while Ter Stegen has not played in the Copa de Rey in either season, because that has been the duty of backup goalkeeper Jasper Cillessen. Taking that into account, Rakitic is the player who has appeared in the most finals without having lost a single one.
Among the most memorable moments of those finals for Ivan Rakitic, is the 2014/15 UEFA Champions League final against Juventus in Berlin, Germany, where the Croatian opened the scoring on four minutes. FC Barcelona went on to win the game 3-1, capping the Club’s second treble.
