LIONEL MESSI’S public bust-up with Barcelona sporting director Eric Abidal has thrown the club into crisis.
The row is splashed across the front pages of every Spanish newspaper and has reportedly cast fresh doubts over the Argentine’s future in Catalonia.
Lionel Messi’s contract means he can leave Barcelona for free at the end of any given seasonCredit: Getty Images – Getty
Spanish newspapers are dominated by the row between Messi and Abidal
Sky Sports report that Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu has called a meeting with Abidal to discuss his future at the club following the public bust-up with Messi.
SunSport revealed this week the forward’s angry reaction to Abidal’s claim that some players downed tools under former Nou Camp manager Ernesto Valverde.
Barca’s sporting director alleged that a large section of the dressing room were under-performing towards the end of the Spaniard’s reign, before he was sacked last month.
However, Messi, 32, hit back on Instagram to accuse the Frenchman of tarnishing the players’ reputations and demand that the former defender take responsibility for his own decisions.
According to Spanish publication Marca, the six-time Ballon d’Or winner’s swift outburst has plunged Barcelona into a “minefield of distrust.”
The outlet claims that Messi has been more hot-headed than usual lately in both training and matches because of the club’s poor form.
The club are currently second in LaLiga behind Real Madrid.
His most recent outburst is all the more significant because the forward has a clause in his contract which enables him to terminate his Barca contract unilaterally at the end of any given season.
Messi, who has spent his entire career at the Nou Camp, is technically tied down until summer 2021 but his get-out option follows similar ones awarded to club legends Xavi, Andres Iniesta and Carles Puyol.
President Josep Maria Bartomeu, who revealed his captain was eager to end his career at Barca, has reportedly lost trust in Abidal for the growing sense of collapse and crisis at the club.
Marca adds that Bartomeu, 56, was particularly upset with the failure to land Xavi as Barca’s new manager.
The Barca president was also annoyed by the club’s inability to find a new forward in the January window following serious injuries to Luis Suarez and Ousmane Dembele.
ABIDAL SPEAKS OUT
The tension was then brought to a head when Abidal shared his frustrations in an interview with the Catalan newspaper Sport on Tuesday.
He said: “A lot of players were not happy and did not work much and there was also a problem with internal communication.
“The relationship between the coach and dressing room was always good, but there are things that as an ex-player I can sense.
“I told the club what I thought and we had to make a decision.”
Yet the chaotic interview struck a nerve with Messi, who knows from experience that he becomes the main target if there are problems in the dressing room.
After posting a picture of Abidal’s interview on Instagram, he denied that Valverde’s sacking and Quique Setien’s subsequent appointment was the players’ responsibility.
He wrote: “I honestly do not like to do this kind of thing but I think that everyone has to be responsible for their job and take responsibility for their decisions.
“Players are responsible for what happens on the field, we are also the first to acknowledge when we don’t play well.
“Those in charge of sporting direction should also face up to their responsibilities and above all take charge of their own decisions.
“Lastly, I think that when you talk about players, you should give names because otherwise you are tainting everyone’s name and feeding rumours that spread and are not true.”
Messi with his then Barcelona teammate Eric Abidal in 2011Credit: Reuters
Messi posted about the story on Instagram
This Kobe Bryant vs Lionel Messi Turkish Airlines advert will forever be a classic
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
