Scandal in Barcelona: Messi Goes Against Club Leadership

The Argentine star added fuel to the fire of the rift by launching a public spat with sporting director Abidal.

Just a few months ago, Barcelona, led by head coach Ernesto Valverde, were comfortably top of the Spanish league and on course to retain the title. The Blaugrana may not have matched the level of the team with Pep Guardiola on the bench and the Iniesta-Xavi duo in midfield, but they were still considered one of the best sides in the world. Now, in early February, Barça are a complete mess.

The leadership of the Spanish giant, headed by president Josep Maria Bartomeu, had been heavily criticized before, but its latest moves are now apparently being met with difficulty not only by fans but also by the team's leaders. The first wave hit the Catalan capital in mid-January, when club bosses decided to sack Valverde. Fans' attitudes toward the head coach were mixed, but his players, led by Messi, later made it clear that the team's problems were not only Ernesto's fault. But the main issue was not even that, but how the club leadership handled the situation.

In the immediate aftermath of Valverde's sacking, Xavi was named as the main candidate for the vacant head coach position at the Spanish champions. One of the club's legends, who was named as the future coach right after ending his playing career and before starting his coaching career, the one capable of restoring the team's identity. At Barça they missed the philosophy of Johan Cruyff and Guardiola's tiki-taka, built largely around Xavi in midfield. But Xavi did not return to Barça, citing his current contract with Qatar's Al-Sadd.

Failing to reach an agreement with Xavi, the Catalans frantically began looking for other options and settled on Quique Setién. The former coach of Las Palmas and Betis — a coach who is undoubtedly idealistic and in some ways perhaps genuinely fits the criteria Barcelona felt they had lost in recent years. However, he is still not one of their own. And Setién, at 61, had no experience of major trophies, let alone working with big clubs. And Barça's first results under Quique have so far failed to bring him wins — recently, the Spanish league leaders are no longer Barcelona, but Real Madrid, which itself was in a slump not long ago.

The management crisis at Barça, whose leadership has been criticized, among other things, for its appalling transfer market work in recent years (multimillion-euro flops with the signings of Philippe Coutinho, Arda Turan, Malcom, André Gomes, Paco Alcácer, Aleix Vidal, etc.), might gradually have faded away, but then former club player and current sporting director Eric Abidal took the floor. In an interview, the Frenchman decided to explain the reasons for Valverde's dismissal and... He would have been better off not doing so.

«We decided to sack Valverde after El Clásico, — Abidal said. — The problem was not the results, but internal issues. Many players were unhappy with Valverde, and some of them did not take training seriously. There were problems within the squad. Although overall the attitude toward Valverde was good, as a former player I felt that something was wrong. I told the club what I thought and that a decision needed to be made».

Abidal's media statement did not go unanswered for long — Lionel Messi responded with a public statement. In his Stories, the Argentine posted a screenshot from the page of Diario Sport, whose journalists Abidal had spoken with, and added a comment.

«Frankly, I don't like doing this, but I think everyone should answer for their actions and their decisions, — Messi wrote. — Players know what happens on the pitch, and we are the first to admit when we have done something wrong. Those who are responsible for the sporting side of the club must understand their responsibility and answer for their decisions. I think that when it comes to certain players, names should be named, because otherwise everyone can fall under suspicion, and that is how lies spread».

According to Marca, only three players in Barça opposed Valverde (Ivan Rakitić, Arturo Vidal and Sergio Busquets), each of whom had not had a regular place in the starting lineup recently. But Messi, given his status at the club, is tired of the shadow of responsibility for everything happening within the squad falling on him.

It is assumed that in this way Messi is responding not only to his former teammate Abidal, but to the whole Barça leadership, which still has not formed a final position on Xavi's possible return to the club and which has failed in the market in the last transfer windows. Leo did not hide the fact that he wanted to see Brazilian Neymar back in the team, but instead the club signed Antoine Griezmann from Atlético.

On top of this, Barça failed to strengthen their attack in winter, even though the team lost injured Luis Suárez for several months and parted ways with promising academy products Carlos Pérez and Abel Ruiz. Going into the second half of the season and the Champions League play-off matches, Barcelona have minimal attacking options: with the new injury to Ousmane Dembélé, besides Messi and Griezmann only 17-year-old star Ansu Fati remains.

It is highly likely that this public spat between two far from minor figures at the club will end with Abidal's dismissal, with whom Bartomeu is reportedly not very pleased either. However, whispers are already starting to circulate that Barça could be left without not only Abidal but also Messi, who has devoted his entire football career to the Blaugrana colors.

Vasily Obaraz, TK Media