After running on the pitch at the full-time whistle, Barco celebrated enthusiastically in front of the devastated England players, rather than joining the rest of his Argentina team-mates. It prompted a furious response from Bellingham, who walked over and clipped him on the back of the head, sparking a melee. It remains to be seen how Barco will be received by English fans when he plays for Chelsea, who have secured his services for an undisclosed fee.
A number of Blues fans reacted angrily to the transfer announcement, with @EDuggan25849 writing on X (formerly Twitter): “Any member of that Argentina national team from the World Cup should not be signed by any English Premier League club!”
@iam_bonface wrote: “Argentina again in squad,” alongside a crying emoji, while @marvgoathero added: “After that s*** he pulled at the World Cup…”
@Jeet_chetwani17 said: “Sure he’s going to ‘love’ England after all his World Cup theatrics,” as @markwaterman17 commented: “He’s absolute toilet. If he ever gets a game in the Premier League I can’t wait for him to be hammered.”
Barco is expected to link up with Xabi Alonso’s squad later during pre-season after Argentina’s journey to the World Cup final last month.
Despite featuring in Lionel Scaloni’s squad at the North America tournament, he managed only 19 minutes, appearing as a second-half substitute in a group stage victory against Jordan.
Enzo Fernandez is amongst several players Barco will recognise when he links up with his new Chelsea colleagues.
He also featured alongside Danny Welbeck at Brighton, Aaron Anselmino at Boca Juniors and Strasbourg, as well as Emmanuel Emegha, David Datro Fofana and Mike Penders at Strasbourg.
Barco joined Strasbourg following an underwhelming period at Brighton. Having arrived at the Ligue 1 club as a left-back, he was repositioned as a central midfielder by former manager Liam Rosenior.
He is set to be deployed in the middle of the park by Alonso next term, though speculation suggests he could be loaned out should the Blues successfully complete their pursuit of Bournemouth midfielder Alex Scott.