The mess at Barcelona went from bad to worse after their Copa del Rey exit, with another Barcelona ace going public with his criticism of Eric Abidal. That man is none other than Jordi Alba.
The Blaugrana sporting director sparked a crisis when he suggested the players were behind Ernesto Valverde’s sacking, stating that some in the dressing room weren’t working hard enough for the previous manager. This statement did not sit well with Lionel Messi, who surprised everyone by taking to Instagram to publicly call out the executive and slam the Frenchman over his comments.
Since then, a whole fiasco erupted, with club president Josep Maria Bartomeu calling an emergency meeting the following day to calm down the situation. After the 1-0 loss to Athletic Club, Alba echoed the sentiment of his captain, stressing that Abidal, as a former player, should have known better.
"This club gets enough sh*t thrown at it from the outside so we shouldn't be throwing sh*t at ourselves," the left-back said after the game, as per Goal.
"Abidal was a player, he is loved by the fans and that's why he should know what it's like inside the dressing room and how players feel."
Thursday’s cup clash with Athletic Club was the perfect opportunity to put the drama behind them but the Catalan giants missed out, losing 1-0 to bow out of the competitions. Busquets insists that the result has nothing to do with the tension between Messi and Abidal, with Alba agreeing with this notion.
"We showed that we are a team and that's what we need to keep on doing," he said,” the defender added.
"I think we put in a great performance, one of the best of the season. It's a real shame we conceded the goal so late but that's what football is like. I'm very proud of the team because of how well we played."
Despite this, rumors surrounding Leo’s future at the Camp Nou continue to spiral. Several sources claim the Argentine is now considering a Barcelona exit, with a clause in his contract allowing him to leave the Spanish giants for free this summer.
