Marc Bartra: 'El Clasico snub led to Barcelona exit'

By Matt Law, Football Editor | 12 July 2016

Marc Bartra reveals that he left Barcelona for Borussia Dortmund this summer because he did not feel valued by Luis Enrique last season.

Spanish defender Marc Bartra has revealed that he decided to leave Barcelona after being left out of El Clasico against Real Madrid in November 2015.

The 25-year-old came through the youth system at Barcelona and made 30 appearances during a breakthrough 2013-14 campaign for the centre-back.

Bartra only made four La Liga starts under Luis Enrique last season, however, and the Spain international has admitted that he found life tough under the 46-year-old, who favoured the likes of Thomas Vermaelen and Jeremy Mathieu as back-up to Gerard Pique and Javier Mascherano.

"One of the moments was returning from the national team, after a game against England which I felt very happy about, and then being left out of the Clasico. At this moment I realised that maybe I shouldn't be so insistent with Barca," he told Radio Marca.

"Pep [Guardiola] gave me belief when I made my debut with him. Tito [Vilanova] decided I should stay in the first team. With Tata [Martino], I played practically 30 games, which gave me the chance of playing for the national team.

"I was on the rise until Luis Enrique arrived. I started well with him, but then he stopped counting on me. It was a tough year and a half for me. The boss had other priorities. I respected his decision and I stuck at it until the end."

Bartra joined Bundesliga side Borussia Dortmund in June for a figure in the region of £6.6m.