Barcelona President Informs Lionel Messi That Technical Secretary Eric Abidal Will Not Be Sacked

?Barcelona president Josep Bartomeu has informed Lionel Messi and technical secretary Eric Abidal that the latter will not be relieved of his duties despite his recent controversial comments.

Abidal risked the wrath of the Blaugrana squad after criticising an unnamed group for playing their part in the dismissal of Ernesto Valverde as the club’s manager in mid-January.

Valverde was removed from his post after a number of uninspiring performances, with Abidal later revealing that the club had even began considering the coach’s position after the 0-0 draw with Real Madrid before the turn of the year. However, he insisted the manager was not solely to blame.

His comments sparked a response from ?Messi, who hit back with a surprising ?post on his Instagram story.

“Sincerely, I don’t like to do these things but I think that people have to be responsible for their jobs and own their decisions,” he responded. “The players [are responsible] for what happens on the pitch and we are the first to admit when we haven’t been good. The heads of the sports department have to take their responsibilities too and above all own the decisions they make.

“I think that when you talk about players, you have to give names because if not, it makes everyone dirty and gives air to things that are said which are not true.”


This public outburst prompted talk that Abidal’s position had been ?‘weakened’, with rumours emerging that he would be sacked. Bartomeu then called a meeting with Abidal on Wednesday.

However, Mundo Deportivo’s ?Marçal Lorente has quelled suggestions that this is the case, revealing that Bartomeu called both Abidal and Messi to inform the pair that the former France international would remain in his post, as the president had no intention of dismissing him.

It is added that the president will likely travel to Bilbao on Thursday for ?Barça‘s Copa del Rey quarter-final clash with Athletic Club in order to publicly show that the club and its players remain united.

Since the comments from Abidal emerged, a variety of Spanish outlets have weighed in on the response. El Larguero suggests that Abidal did not intentionally place blame onto Messi, with his comments in the interview supposedly being misinterpreted. Elsewhere, El Patizado de COPE reports that the Argentine and Luis Suarez didn’t want to see Valverde sacked, with both players ?previously backing their manager following some uninspiring displays.

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