Quique Setien, Barcelona coach, finally spoke up about the dispute that occurred between Eric Abidal, Barcelona Sports Director, with Lionel Messi, Captain of Barcelona. According to Setien, the dispute will not affect the players.
Abidal in an interview stated that the players on the team are currently unhappy and isn’t working hard under former coach, Ernesto Valverde.
Messi, who is usually reserved, this time responded to the comments of his former team mate and said that club officials also had to be responsible for Valverde’s dismissal last month.
The Argentine striker also asked Abidal to mention “the names of players” who didn’t work hard enough to avoid tarnishing everyonesnames.
Barcelona’s conditions
Spanish media have stated that Messi’s response was considered to have made Barcelona’s internal conditions less harmonious and chaotic.
This problem also caught the attention of Barcelona’s new coach, Setien, who said that he had spoken with the players.
The former Real Betis coach said his squad was only thinking about the next match, which was against Athletic Bilbao in the quarter-finals of the Copa del Rey on Friday.
“I will do everything to make sure this does not affect the team, all I think about is tomorrow’s match and the obligation to qualify for the next round. I cannot control others and will not use up my energy,” he told reporters told Reuters, Wednesday.
“This situation does not affect me, all I can do is give the players what they need to use their talents. Every club has problems, but there are things that I cannot control, so please only talk to me about football.”