Abidal

Setien, Abidal face sack from Barcelona Spanish football expert Alvaro Montero tells Sky Sports News that manager Quique Setien and sporting director Eric Abidal are set to be sacked by Barcelona at a meeting on Monday morning.

Abidal accused the Blaugrana stars of lack of commitment which led to the sack of Ernesto Valverde during an interview last month.

Abidal, a former team mate of Messi and Alba, had told newspaper Sport that he felt some Barca players were not working hard enough under Valverde, which led to him advising club president Josep Maria Bartomeu to sack the coach.

Abidal played a key role in selecting Setien as Valverde’s successor, and some eight months later he has now followed the head coach out the door at the Nou Camp.

Abidal's defense of sacked manager Quique Setien (pictured) did not augur very well with the club's seniors.

Abidal told reporters that he hopes the Argentine skipper will sign a new deal soon despite the bust-up.

Barca have fallen three points behind Real Madrid in the title race after a defeat to Valencia and captain Lionel Messi appears to be at loggerheads with sporting director Eric Abidal.

But Barca changed their minds and sent Abidal and Grau to hold meetings with Xavi.

Eric Abidal is set to follow Quique Setien out the door at Barcelona – with Lionel Messi one of just SIX players safe from the axe, according to reports.

Former Real Betis boss Setien said Messi's behaviour remained the same despite the falling out with Abidal.

Manchester United are now said to be eyeing a move for Lionel Messi as the Red Devils want to explore the chance of the row between him and Abidal.

Messi’s riposte that “everyone should take responsibility for their own decisions” after Abidal suggested Ernesto Valverde was sacked last month because of the players, means Barcelona are in political turmoil off the pitch.

So his public row with Abidal is unlikely to have gone unnoticed among the City hierarchy, as well as Europe’s other top clubs.

So why did Abidal, prepared as he must have been, say what he said?

The Al Sadd coach has confirmed he was made a formal offer by technical secretary Eric Abidal and CEO Oscar Grau but says he turned it down as it would be “too soon” for him to take charge at Camp Nou.

With manager Quique Setien and sporting director Eric Abidal sacked, many players are expected to leave as well, and although they would rather keep Messi he is considering his options.

Most of all, though, Philippe Coutinho concluded a horrible season with another anonymous performance, and selling the Brazilian will be a vital task for sporting director Eric Abidal over the coming weeks.

PSG director Leonardo has met with Barcelona sporting director Eric Abidal, his assistant Javier Bordas and Andre Cury, the club's Brazil-based director to discuss a move.

Rakuten chairman Hiroshi Mikitani (left) and FC Barcelona technical secretary Eric Abidal pose at a news conference announcing the Spanish club's summer tour dates in Japan on Thursday in Tokyo.

Barcelona denied on Wednesday that they illegally bought a transplant liver for their former defender Eric Abidal.