Jose Mourinho last night described Inter’s reported summer transfer target Ivan Rakitic as ‘the most underrated player in the world’.

Rakitic scored the winning goal for Barcelona on Saturday as they secured a second ‘El Clasico’ victory over Real Madrid in the space of four days, having beaten their rivals 3-0 in the Copa del Rey semi-finals in midweek.

Mourinho commented the match as a pundit for TV station beIN Sports and heaped praise upon the Croatian whose name has been linked to Inter in recent weeks.

“I don’t want people to misunderstand me when I say he doesn’t play like a world-beater,” Mourinho said after the match.

“What I mean is that he’s an incredibly pragmatic, functional and solid player. He’s probably more solid now than he has ever been before in his career.

“He knows how to defend, he knows how to attack and he’s constantly improving.

“I think he’s a fantastic player, possibly the most underrated player in the world.”