Reported Liverpool target Bradley Barcola suffered the humiliation of being taken off at half-time as Paris Saint-Germain clinched the Ligue 1 title on Wednesday evening.
PSG won a fifth straight championship after beating second-place Lens 2-0, with Barcola being handed a rare start by Luis Enrique.
However, with Footmercato claiming that the 23-year-old ‘lacked sharpness’, he was taken off at the break.
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Enrique was asked about his decision following the match, and the Spaniard offered a slightly cryptic response about a player who has been heavily linked with Liverpool in recent days.
Enrique refuses to clarify Barcola substitution
Part of the reason links between Barcola and Liverpool have ramped up is that the Frenchman cannot command a starting place in the PSG XI.
He was given the chance to rectify that ahead of the Champions League final in Lens on Wednesday, but spectacularly failed to take it.
Although the stats were not too unfavourable towards Barcola – he created one big chance and won two out of three duels amongst other things – Enrique chose to haul him off, and gave a frosty response when asked about it post-match. Clearly, injury was not the issue.
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“I can’t say anything. No important information for you, think what you want. I’m not explaining anything, but it’s very clear,” said the manager.
It would be wrong to say things look irreparably broken for Barcola at PSG, but as rumours continue to swirl about his future, Enrique’s decision and subsequent comments will do little to quieten the noise.
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