The 28-year-old was widely expected to start in Georgia due to the absence of Neymar, but Luis Enrique opted to give Rafinha the nod instead. The winger eventually came on and proved decisive as he scored the winning goal late in injury time, prodding home the rebound from a Lionel Messi shot.
Pedro is set to leave Barca for United in the upcoming weeks after both clubs reached an agreement, but Neymar's contraction of the mumps has put the deal on hold for now.
Technical secretary Robert Fernandez confirmed ahead of Tuesday's encounter that Pedro has asked to leave the club, though the winger himself denied it.
Either way, the club chief insists his place on the bench was unrelated to his desire to move on.
"Pedro being on the bench was purely a tactical decision," Bartomeu told Antena3.
"We've got a lot of players in the squad and it's hard to make the starting XI. It has nothing to do with Pedro leaving.
"Rafinha started the match because he's a great player."
"Pedro being on the bench was purely a tactical decision," Bartomeu told Antena3.
"We've got a lot of players in the squad and it's hard to make the starting XI. It has nothing to do with Pedro leaving.
"Rafinha started the match because he's a great player."
