FC Barcelona sack sporting director Abidal

FC Barcelona said on Tuesday they have sacked sporting director Eric Abidal, a day after dispensing with coach Quique Setien.

Setien’s sacking was in response to the club’s ouster from the UEFA Champions League last week after an 8-2 drubbing by Bayern Munich.

This latest development is no doubt a follow-up.

Abidal, a double UEFA Champions League winner as a Barca player, had been in the role for over two years.

But he has now been let go after one of the club’s worst seasons in recent memory, in which they also surrendered the league title to Real Madrid.

The Frenchman was also the target of criticism from Lionel Messi earlier this year.

The Argentina captain had accused his former club team mate of blaming the squad for Ernesto Valverde getting sacked as coach last January.

Abidal joined Barca as a player in 2007 and became one of the club’s most popular players for enduring a battle with cancer, which forced him to undergo a liver transplant in 2012.

“The club would publicly like to thank Éric Abidal for his professionalism, commitment, dedication and the close and positive nature of his relationship with all aspects of the Barca family,” the club said in a statement.