Marc Bartra deleted his 'Forca Barca' tweet after being left out of the El Clasico squad

Luis Enrique announced his matchday squad for this season’s first El Clasico and it contained some crucial returns for the club in Ivan Rakitic and Lionel Messi. However, there was one name missing, and it appears Marc Bartra did not take too kindly to his exclusion from the 18-man squad to travel to the Santiago Bernabeu.

Barcelona have had their fair share of defensive issues this season, it came as quite a surprise though considering their stellar defensive record from last season. Injuries have played a big role for them though as they’ve found themselves constantly lacking personnel after Gerard Pique’s early suspension in the season.

Despite all the troubles for them, Bartra has only managed 5 starts for Luis Enrique’s side, one of which came in the Supercopa Espana that they lost and even if you add to those his 3 substitute appearances, it does not read like someone who would be considered as a starter in a match the magnitude of El Clasico.

Nonetheless, it appears that Bartra was more confident about his chances of finding his name on the squad. It appears he was disappointed when the list was eventually revealed as his name was not on it.

He had tweeted ahead of the game in Spanish, roughly translated it read: “Really Excited for the Clasico. Forca Barca”. Interestingly, though, as soon as the squad was released, Bartra was quick to take down the tweet but here’s a screenshot.

Here’s the Barca squad in full: Ter Stegen, Claudio Bravo, Piqué, Rakitic, Sergio, Alves, Iniesta, Luis Suárez, Leo Messi, Neymar Jr, Mascherano, Munir, Jordi Alba, Sandro, Sergi Roberto, Adriano, Vermaelen and Mathieu.

Considering that both Vermaelen and Mathieu made it to the squad ahead of him for such a massive fixture doesn’t reflect well for the young Barca player. He’s shown on few instances the guile needed to make it among the big guns but lacks consistency at the moment.

The key names on that list that everyone will keep an eye on is Lionel Messi and Ivan Rakitic. The Argentina national has been missing from action since late September and Rakitic picked up an injury in early November.

Luis Enrique has insisted that he will not rush Messi back from his injury but if he’s able to play against Barcelona’s bitter rivals it will be a massive psychological boost for the team apart from the obvious contribution Messi will make on the pitch.