Samper was a kid and I don't recall Bartra refusing to play... I think he played both games, 90 mins each, due to Puyol and Mascherano being out. Further neither of them spoke about it publicly as far as remember...
Bartra played, but cried and begged a coach not to play.
He said that he is not ready for big games.
And you're full of crap... Do you know that Xavi nearly left for Milan because he had trouble breaking into the team and struggled with the dynamics. The fans and critics called him a "windscreen wiper". But yet again he didn't cry in the media. Xavi once said that he only got recognised after 2008 Euros... He had been a Barça first team player for 10 years by then already...
What is this?
A random comment about Xavi?
Xavi was a God under Rijkaard, we discussed that and this story 10s of times before you came to this forum.
So, yes, Xavi wanted to leave, but he was a key player in our team way before Pep.
Before Pep, he was like Coutinho or Eriksen today, one of top10 midfielders in the world.
After Pep, he turned into a no1.
But people often write things as if Xavi was some sort of Gomes or Paulinho before Pep.
Why has he been playing? That’s more concerning. If he is prepared to tell the press this, it’s safe to assume he has mentioned something to management.
And it sounds like he probably shouldn’t be playing if he is “not enjoying” his football. He needs to sort those off field issues first. Hopefully the club can get some decent money for him in the summer, and he can thrive is a less pressured environment. He has some decent attributes, but he isn’t cut out for an elite club.
He plays because even a Gomes with mental problems is better (for 2 coaches in a row) than some other players in our team.
That says more about a quality of our squad midfielders than about Gomes.
Anyway, I still had some hopes for him, but now it seems that his Barca's career is over.
You can't succeed here if you have some serious flaws.
And he has both questionable skills for our style and now he sadly has mental strength issues.