Barcelona head coach Luis Enrique has dismissed claims suggesting that Ivan Rakitic was left out of their squad on Sunday due to a potential transfer to Manchester City.
Reports in Rakitic’s home country of Croatia recently linked him with a January switch to join ex-Barcelona head coach Pep Guardiola in Manchester.
Given that he was left out of Barcelona’s squad for their 1-1 draw with Villarreal on Sunday, many thought they may have been some truth in the stories.
However, Enrique quickly dismissed the talk post-match and claimed that Rakitic’s absence from the squad was in no relation to the transfer story.
“Rakitic’s absence has no relation with that story,” Enrique told reporters post-match.
“Anyway, it doesn’t matter if the media is English, Croatian… you can’t trust the media.”
Lionel Messi saved the Catalan giants at the Estadio de la Ceramica, as the Argentine ace scored a 90th-minute stunner from a free-kick to secure a point.
The draw leaves Barcelona five points behind Real Madrid, who have a game in hand, leaving them a mountain to climb in the La Liga title race.
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