On Monday, Eric Abidal met Quique Setién in a city restaurant and informed him that he had been fired as manager of Barcelona; Just over 24 hours later, he was fired, releasing his position as sports director at the Camp Nou.
The decision, presumably presented as by mutual consent, represents a sharp departure from the formal announcement made by Barcelona on Monday. A statement said the club would carry out a “comprehensive restructuring of the first team, based on a consensus between the current technical secretariat and the new coach, which will be announced in the coming days”. But a day later, that technical secretary left. Meanwhile, the president of the club, Josep Maria Bartomeu, will continue in his post, with elections not being held after March 15, 2021.
The new manager is expected to be the current Dutch head coach, Ronald Koeman, who arrived in Barcelona on Tuesday and, according to Spanish paper AS, discussed the vacancy outside the Dutch Football Association’s headquarters earlier in the day. Asked if he would like to return to Barcelona, the 57-year-old, who spent six years as a player at the Camp Nou, said after all: “Yes, I would like to, but it will can only be confirmed once I have signed the contract. Until then, I can say no more about it – although I want to. “
Barcelona will undergo dramatic cost-cutting measures aimed at saving close to € 200 million and rejuvenating the field, in search of departure for older, more expensive players. Almost a handful of footballers are considered untouchable by the club. Lionel Messi is single, but his contract expires next year and there are doubts about his desire to continue. He has so far been quiet at noon from reports that he wants to leave. Another, Marc-André ter Stegen, is yet to renew his contract and will be out of action until November.
The task of leading the reconstruction will now not fall on Abidal. A former player, since returning to the club in 2018, he has overseen an enormous release with reduced returns, and has drawn heavy criticism, although real power lay in the hands of Bartomeu, not only the president but also the vice president with responsibility for sports.
Abidal drew criticism for his handling of the departure of Ernesto Valverde in January – the first Barcelona coach to be sacked this afternoon by a 16-year-old season – and the search for a replacement. With a few candidates available, Barcelona finally came to live on Setién, after being rejected by Xavi and Koeman.
Abidal was publicly criticized by Messi after he blamed the players for leaving Valverde and claimed that some “did not like working”. The dismissal of the Frenchman represents the fifth change made in the role of sporting director during Bartomeu’s six-year presidency. Andoni Zubizarreta was fired in early 2015 when Bartomeu tried to drive out a crisis. Zubizarreta’s assistant, Carles Puyol, rushed to the scene.
Next came a committee composed of Charly Rexach, Ariedo Braida, Javi Bordas and Jordi Mestre, who was then replaced by Robert Fernández. He later became a member of Pep Segura. When Fernández left, Abidal and Ramón Planes joined Segura, who then left.
Abidal worked with Planes until his departure – the last victim of the crisis, but almost certainly not the last.
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