Six games into his Barcelona career, and Ivan Rakitic was briefly basking in the glow of a 6-0 thrashing of Granada. The all-action Croatia midfielder had headed home from Lionel Messi, who scored twice while Neymar plundered a hat-trick. Newly arrived from Seville in 2014, Rakitic was then reminded of the stratospheric expectations at the Nou Camp.

“After that game, I had an interview and they asked me, ‘What happened with Barça? You didn’t play well.’ I was thinking, ‘What?! We won 6-0.’ So I said, ‘OK, we’re going to work really hard so that in the next game we’ll be better.’ The pressure inspires me. This pressure is different to other clubs. That’s why Barça are the best club in the world.”

Barcelona finished