Absolutely true. He was good just for the first time that he joined Barcelona and he was in top form.
Then he got benched and never came back to match performance.
He is a mediocre player that has nothing more to offer to Barca anymore.
Well, I don’t think really that you can say that Rakitic is a mediocre player.
All players in Barcelona are very good and Messi is extraordinary, of course.
Just, as every player, Rakitic have good and bad points.
He is slow player and feel better if he play behind.
Also, he is not young any more and it's natural that Barcelona wants to replace him but he played many great matches for Barcelona in the past and we should respect him.
He gave a lot to Barcelona and helped them to achieve great results in the last 4-5 years.
Now is time for new and young, promising players but everybody should respect Rakitic to, for his contribution and everything he did.