Barcelona sack sporting director Abidal as rebuild continues

Barcelona said on Tuesday they have sacked sporting director Eric Abidal, a day after dispensing with coach Quique Setien in response to exiting the Champions League last week with an 8-2 drubbing by Bayern Munich.

Abidal, a double Champions League winner as a Barca player, had been in the role for over two years but has 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, who accused his former 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.