The Barcelona midfielder said it is football's duty to society to "give a feeling of unity that we need so much", with LaLiga having been on hold since mid March.
Barcelona top the table, two points clear of Real Madrid, with 11 rounds of games to be played. It remains unclear whether the 2019-20 competition will resume although there are hopes of a June return to action.
Leagues in France and Holland have been abandoned and Spain's health minister Salvador Illa has cast doubt on whether football in the country can be played in the near future.
Rakitic told Marca that talk around the incentive for returning has centred around economic factors when the focus should be on how football can improve public morale.
He said in the newspaper: "I want to play. It is evident that we must try to return with the best sanitary guarantees but we must also know that they will never be 100 per cent.
"But that same risk will be borne by all workers on their return to work. Supermarket employees also change in dressing rooms and have the same or more possibility of getting it as we do.
"They take that risk and I want to take it too. I think we have that debt and I'm sure if we asked the fans they would love for there to be football."
The Croatian was asked to confirm the assertion that he would risk his own health.
He added: "Without a doubt and I say this from the awareness that the risk will be very small, but also because of the solidarity with those who have been playing for us from the first minute and that they will continue like this for many days."
Rakitic said he hoped football people, like everyone, would be "a little bit more human" after experiencing the coronavirus pandemic.
And he vowed players would be "more plugged in than ever" when games return, stressing they would give everything even if matches must proceed behind closed doors.
Rakitic said: "Lately I have heard many people talk about the problems there would be if we do not play, economic problems, European competitions, calendar, promotions, relegations, but I have not heard anyone talk about people, those people for whom their team is part of their life and they have suddenly had it taken away.
"Socially we must take a step, to be able to entertain people with what they like, so that we all stop thinking about viruses and disease, so that we can return to joking around with our neighbour from the opposite team."
Quique Setien's men were top of the table by two points with 11 games to play when LaLiga was suspended last month because of COVID-19.
Rakitic feels Barca should be crowned league winners if they are top and the season is called off, even with rivals Real Madrid just two points adrift.
"We all want to play again and to win the league by playing," he told Movistar+.
"I also understand that if we can't go back somehow, the season will have to end. If we are at the top then we will have to be the champions, but deadlines must be exhausted.
"The ideal scenario would be to finish whenever, but always with a well-made plan, especially considering next season too."
Out of contract in 2021, Rakitic has been linked with a move away from Camp Nou amid interest from elsewhere.
The Croatia international insisted he was content at Barcelona, saying: "I don't want to give the feeling of being angry or anything like that. It's not like that.
"I'm calm and happy where I am, but of course there are two sides and we want to do things well."
Spain has introduced emergency restrictions to combat the spread of COVID-19, with people banned from leaving home except for buying essential supplies and medicines, or for work.
LaLiga and football have also been postponed in Spain, where more than 1,700 people have died from at least 28,700 coronavirus cases.
Rakitic discussed the current situation, telling Barca's official channels: "I have only gone outside to throw out the trash, which is 50 metres away and that's the only thing I have done on the street.
"Since the Napoli [game] I was already preparing for all this and I did quite a lot of shopping.
"I remember very well when we went to Naples to play the Champions League game and the issue had already started in Italy.
"I told the doctor that I wasn't confident about it and that it was going be much [worse]. Now we have to all be together.
"Of course I would like to play sports on the street as it is better, or take a walk, but we have to understand that we need to do this."
With football on hiatus, Croatia international Rakitic added: "I have a gym at home and my wife is also very hooked. We go every day, some days in the morning and afternoon and the girls also enjoy it.
"We have set up as a game room in the gym and they can play and we can train. Each [Barcelona] fitness coach has a group of players that he works with.
"I am with Antonio and I ask him what we have to do, when we have to work harder on the treadmill and on the bike. We are in daily contact, they are very aware of everything and they have an answer."
For football stars it is just as important to maintain an active mind to while away the oft tedious, but essential, hours spent at home.
Barcelona midfielder Ivan Rakitic took part in a quickfire question and answer session on his club's social-media channels, titled the 90-second challenge.
Rakitic pondered several topics and revealed which team-mate is struggling more than others.
Below is a full run-down of his replies:
Staying at home is? Boredom
What do you miss the most? Friends
Which team-mate do you speak to the most? (Marc-Andre) Ter Stegen
What series did you last watch? El Ganador
What's the best thing about being at home? Family
And the worst? Boredom
Lockdown without the internet or without family? Without family
At this point, Barca provided a comical interlude which read: "*Disclaimer - we all know no one cares more about family more than Ivan. We also know anyone can have a lapse when they are in a rush!"
Which team-mate lives closest to you? [Lionel] Messi
Is your mobile battery lasting less at the moment? No more, but much, much more
What is your favourite place in the house? Now - the gym
Which family member do you speak to the most? My in-laws
From 0-10 how are you coping with lockdown? 10
Which social network do you use the most? Instagram
Who's having the worst time in lockdown? Arturo Vidal
And the best? Ter Stegen
Favourite board game? Ludo
At the end of the session Rakitic was told he had answered one more question than his coach Quique Setien to which he replied with a grin: "Okay, that's important!"
