At the end of 24 explosive hours for FC Barcelona and Leo Messi, a meeting tonight between club president Josep Maria Bartomeu and technical secretary Eric Abidal has ended with Bartomeu's decision to keep the Frenchman in his role at the giant Catalan football club, as sports daily El Mundo Deportivo reports.
Emergency meeting
The meeting, also attended by Barça's organizational CEO Oscar Grau, lasted about two hours. It was motivated by statements made by Abidal asserting that there were players in the squad who were failing to pull their weight under Ernesto Valverde, the recently sacked coach.
FC Barcelona
These words provoked the reaction of Leo Messi, who, in his role as captain, sent a message that it was unfair for Abidal to say this "without giving names." The Barça star considered the words of Abidal had "tarred everyone".
Messi's words: "I sincerely dislike doing these things but I think everyone has to look after their own jobs and take responsibility for their decisions. For the players, that means what happens on the field and we are the first to recognize when we haven't done well. Those responsible for the football management area must also assume their responsibilities and, above all, the decisions they make. Finally, I think that when you're talking about players, you have to give names because if not, you are tarring everyone and feeding rumours which are going around and are not true."
At a time when mediocre results and the change of coach were already creating tension, it seemed that something had snapped. And the main question was what would happen to Abidal. It was even speculated that the Frenchman could be ousted. This controversy surprised club president Bartomeu while he was at the European Parliament in Brussels, part of a promotional visit for the city of Barcelona.
Bartomeu and Abidal will travel to Bilbao
The Barça president returned to Catalonia this Wednesday afternoon and after speaking to the club's Argentinian star, met with Abidal. The Barça team plays on Thursday in the quarterfinals of the Copa del Rey against Athletic Club in Bilbao. Both Bartomeu and Abidal will travel with the team, according to El Mundo Deportivo.