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.
Matt Law
