Ivan Rakitic admits it was tough to take Neymar's move to Paris Saint-Germain

Barcelona midfielder Ivan Rakitic has admitted that Neymar's move to Paris Saint-Germain was tough to take for him as a player.

The Brazil international became the world's most expensive footballer in August after Les Parisiens paid a world-record €222 million to release him from his contract.

A number of Neymar's former teammates have admitted their disappointment at the forward's decision, and Rakitic laid on the same saying: "For me, personally, it was really hard, not only because he's one of the biggest players -- also he's a big person. He was really important for our dressing room, and he's one of the best guys I know in football. So for me it was really a bad decision because I liked to have him in my team. But we have to respect Neymar's decision to move. If a team can buy him and he decides to leave Barcelona, we have to respect it and wish him the best of luck."

Rakitic, has, however, wished that Neymar scores a lot of goals for his new club, where he hopes to lay a mark by being the orchestrator in the attack. Barcelona have coped really well without the presence of Neymar this campaign with Lionel Messi having scored nine goals in just five La Liga outings. As a result, Barca are at the top of the table with 15 points after five games played, and they seem to already have one hand on the La Liga table with Real Madrid already eight points behind them.

Neymar's replacement Ousmane Dembele is expected to be out for a prolonged period after a surgery on a serious hamstring injury, but the Spanish giants appear to be coping well at the moment with Gerard Deulofeu impressing since his return from Everton earlier in the summer. Barcelona face off against newcomers Girona in the Catalan derby this weekend.