Ivan Rakitic's future is a big talking point at the Catalan club, and a former coach of his at Sevilla, Michel, believes there is no better place for him than at Barcelona.
Michel's Real Madrid past didn't prevent him from giving advice to the current Blaugrana star, whose versatility makes him the ideal squad player for a club like Barcelona and his quality a more than capable starter.
"I would never send Barcelona my CV unless it were All Saints day [December 28th]," joked Michel, with the coach making clear he would never betray Los Blancos like that. "That wouldn't be good for either party."
As for Rakitic, the former Sevilla boss couldn't be any clearer.
"I think Rakitic will stay at Barcelona and won't make the mistake of leaving," he said. "Rakitic is a fantastic 12th man because if you are ever missing anyone, he can play as a No. 10, as a defensive midfielder, or at right or left midfield.
"He is great in second balls from midfield and is good at heading the ball too."
In fact, Michel spoke to Luis Enrique at the time of the Croat's signing.
"I spoke to Luis Enrique when I was still coaching Oympiakos at the time Rakitic made the move to tell them [Barcelona] that they had made a great signing."
Michel also pointed out how demanding a club like Real Madrid can be.
"Real are a demanding club and always will be, so there have always been instances of whistling from the stadium," he insisted. "It doesn't matter how far ahead in the table they are, or if they've gone 40 unbeaten, what matters is the end of the season."