Barcelona’s Rakitic eyes Bayern as major UCL contender

FC Barcelona midfield standout and former Schalke 04 man, Ivan Rakitic, recently gave an interview to Bild. The Croatian national stated that he sees Bayern Munich as a contender for the Champions League crown and that Jupp Heynckes is an enormous reason why. Rakitic explained,

Bayern are always there; we know Bayern well. That’s why we know that it will be very, very hard [to win the Champions League]. For me, Bayern are always a candidate for the title. They’re back on track again now with their new coach. So I wish my old friends who are still there lots of luck. Maybe we’ll see each other.

Rakitic’s Barcelona side is widely considered to be the co-favorite for this season’s UEFA Champions League along with Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City juggernaut. Bayern, however, have crept back into the discussion with Heynckes managing his uber-talented roster with aplomb.

As Barcelona prepares to spar with the ever-dangerous Eden Hazard and Chelsea, Bayern will begin preparations for its match-up with Besiktas. Both opening matches will be played on Tuesday, February 20th.

The 29-year-old Rakitic, who won the 2014-2015 Champions League with Barcelona, recently notched his 100th career goal in a career that has spanned stops with FC Basel and Sevilla FC, in addition to Schalke 04, Barcelona, and the Croatian national squad.