Reports | Eric Abidal set to continue as Sporting Director despite conflicts at Camp Nou
Former Barcelona star Eric Abidal will be allowed to keep his job as the club’s sporting director despite his ongoing feud with former teammate Lionel Messi. Abidal and the Argentine have been in a very public war over the last week after the 40-year-old's comments in an interview with Diario Sport.
Abidal, who was a part of the 2008/09 treble-winning team under Pep Guardiola at Barcelona, was called into an emergency on Wednesday to discuss the matter and the BBC further reported that after the two-hour meeting, it was decided that the Frenchman would keep his job despite Abidal's comments. The former defender had said that players at Camp Nou were not working hard under former coach Ernesto Valverde and it's what lead to his sacking.
The 40-year-old also said that as a former player he realised what was happening and then made a decision to tell the board about the situation and they took the decision to sack the Spaniard. But, in an Instagram post, Barcelona captain Lionel Messi broke his silence and criticised Abidal even asking the Frenchman to take responsibilities for the decisions he has made since joining the club.
Valverde, the former Athletic Bilbao boss, and Barcelona eventually parted ways with former Real Betis manager Quique Setien taking over in January. The 61-year-old however, went on to admit that he was not interested in the situation and was very reserved with his response to any questions over the subject.
"I'm not going to get involved in the life of Messi, or anyone else. I'm nobody's dad, I have to ensure that my players come here, come here happy and that what we provide on the pitch are good for them to grow so that we can continue winning. The other stuff doesn't bother me at all,” said Setien reported Goal.