5 superstars Luis Enrique has fallen out with over the years: Dembele, Messi, Mbappe…
Luis Enrique is undoubtedly one of the best managers of the modern generation but he’s certainly fallen out with some big names over the years.
Having managed the likes of Barcelona, Spain and now PSG, Enrique has worked with some of the biggest names in football during his 16-year coaching career.
We’ve taken a closer look at his track record and have found five players that he’s fallen out with over the years.
Ousmane Dembele
Despite being PSG’s highest-paid player, Enrique isn’t willing to give Dembele any preferential treatment and that became apparent when he left the Frenchman out of PSG’s recent Champions League squad to face Arsenal.
Despite the PSG winger being in prolific form, having chipped in with seven goal contributions so far this season, there seems to have been a fall out behind the scenes.
Dembele reportedly had a disagreement with Enrique after PSG’s 3-1 win against Rennes and he’s since been dropped from their match day squad as a result.
“If someone doesn’t comply or respect the expectations of the team, it means they are not prepared to play,” Enrique told reporters when discussing the decision to drop Dembele.
“The match tomorrow is very important and I want all my players to be ready, so as a consequence I have left him [Dembele] out. I want the best for my team and that is my job.”
Kylian Mbappe
Mbappe scored 44 goals in 48 appearances under Enrique and played some of the best football of his career, but their relationship hasn’t always been smooth sailing.
Once it became evident that Mbappe wasn’t going to extend his contract with PSG, Enrique began substituting him early and even left him out of the starting XI every now and again.
Enrique claimed this was because PSG needed to learn how to play without Mbappe, but it’s fair to say that the Frenchman didn’t always take kindly to the early substitutions.
Lionel Messi
The two of them have a good relationship these days, but that wasn’t always the case. Upon Enrique’s arrival at Barcelona in 2014, it’s fair to say that he didn’t originally see eye-to-eye with Messi.
In one of Enrique’s first training sessions at Barcelona, Messi felt like he was being singled out after the Spaniard had refused to give him a free-kick after being fouled in a five-a-side training match.
The two of them then had an angry exchange but thankfully were soon able to put their differences aside as Barcelona went on to win the treble during Enrique’s first season in charge.
“Until everything was sorted out there was a time of tension,” Enrique said in an interview with Radio Catalunya.
“I was not looking for it but it appeared and I had to manage the situation. But now I can only see great things about Messi.”
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Neymar
Despite winning nine trophies alongside each other at Barcelona, Enrique and Neymar have had a few squabbles over the years.
Indeed, it was Enrique who was ultimately happy to see Neymar leave PSG upon the coach’s arrival in Paris last year.
During his Barcelona days, an unnamed source close to the Brazilian claimed that Neymar didn’t particularly enjoy playing under Enrique.
“Neymar complained about everything Luis Enrique did. From his team selections and regular starters to his substitutes,” the anonymous source claimed during an interview with GOAL.
“Since he was at Santos, he’s always had problems with his managers, be it at club level or international level.”
Gerard Pique
The Spanish boss was reportedly unhappy with Pique back in 2014 after the Barcelona defender had used his mobile phone when on the bench against Espanyol.
Then following a sub-par performance against Real Madrid, the defender was left out of the starting XI during the weeks that followed.
However, Enrique himself claimed that the supposed fall out had been exaggerated by the press at the time.
“It is you [the media] who is exaggerating,” Enrique said. “If I have a problem with a player, I like to be direct with them. But thankfully that has not happened here.”