Rakitic, who played for Barca across six seasons, was teammates with the deadly 'MSN' trio of Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar Junior.
He was one of those who fed the ball into that frontline, which he describes as 'unique' and now sees the new star Lamine Yamal following in their footsteps.
But, as Rakitic knows, football has its ups and downs.
Speaking to Flashscore about the Spanish forward, he said: "I would say that Lamine is an incredible player, which is why I'm proud of him as he progresses and develops.
"It's all going in the right direction, and he has become aware that football has its downsides, such as injuries and the pressure he faces. I think he has to follow his own path; I wouldn't compare him to the three I mentioned.
"Barcelona and Spain have something special in him, and we all need to help him learn to handle the pressure. He is a truly special player."
Playing alongside these rare talents was something Rakitic was used to, but something that he never took for granted.
Remarking on the 'MSN' trio, he added: "It was brilliant to play with them; it was an incredible time. The whole world got something special; you could see it was something unique. I think it's the best thing that could have happened to football.
"And for me, it was a pleasure not only to play with them but also to train with them."
This was also the case at international level. With Croatia, Rakitic, who was part of the 2018 World Cup squad that made the final only to lose 4-2 to France, got the opportunity to play alongside Luka Modric.
He went on to win the Ballon d'Or in the same year and is still going strong today with AC Milan. His former midfield partner retired in the summer after a swansong spell with Hajduk Split, but Rakitic still revels in his special relationship with Modric.
He explained: "I have a special relationship with Luka. We both started in the national team when we were young, and he's still there. He's an incredible person and a player too.
"I think it doesn't matter if you're a fan of Real Madrid, Milan, Croatia or anyone else; you just have to love Luka because the way he approaches football and how he does it is admirable.
"I think that in Milan they're not yet aware of how lucky they should be to have brought Luka into their club, because it's unique, special, to have such a player in the dressing room and on the pitch. It's incredible how he plays at his age. And personally, I think Luka can play for another few years.
"An anecdote? There are loads of them, so many great moments, but the ones that aren't well-known have to stay between Luka and me..."
Some secrets are more well-known. Rakitic's most successful spell came under the stewardship of Luis Enrique. In the Spaniard's first season at the helm, Barcelona won the treble, including the Champions League, and those days have stuck with the Croatian.
"To tell you about Luis Enrique I'd need hours and hours," he mused. "I could even spend a whole day talking about Enrique. I enjoyed working with him for three years.
"I think he's truly a special man and coach; he's very meticulous and thorough, which is why he achieves such results. And I'm not at all surprised that he's achieving such results with PSG, not in the slightest.
"And I think there's still a lot more to come from him because I know he's positively mad about football, I know the players follow him, it's always been that way."
Spells at Sevilla, Al Shabab, before ending in Split, followed his time at Barcelona, but it is his time in Andalusia that is remembered most.
He was signed to Barcelona from there before returning after six years in Catalonia, and, to this day, he is spoken about in the highest regard on the streets of Seville after helping them to European glory.
Since then, it has gone downhill for the club, but Rakitic believes the only way is up.
Speaking about the current situation of the club, he answered: "I know it's not easy, especially given the current situation at the club. But I can see they're heading in the right direction; I think we all need to push and help the club, to get Sevilla back into European competition and achieve the best possible results.
"I really like the new manager's style of coaching, the intensity he has during the match and the energy he passes on to the players.
"I think you can feel that great connection between the players and him, and I really hope he will be very successful, and that the results will get better and better."