Eric Abidal: Barcelona fire sporting director barely 24 hours after sacking Setien- Eric Abidal served as club sporting director since 2018 shortly after his retirement - The Frenchman fell out of favor with players after criticizing them during the season - The Barcelona legend was publicly involved in a spat with club captain Lionel Messi - Abidal's sacking comes barely 24 hours after the dismissal of manager Quique Setien PAY ATTENTION: Click “See First” under the “Following” tab to see Legit.ng News on your Facebook News Feed! Barcelona have parted ways with Sporting director Eric Abidal, with the reported sweep of the club’s hierarchy taking in full swing. The departure of Abidal as Sporting director was confirmed on the Barcelona website on Tuesday, August 18, with the club “thanking him for his services”. Recommended for you CBN issues phone number, email address to report PoS operators charging hig... Things started to look bleak for Abidal after the 40-year old came to the defense of the now sacked boss Quique Setien after Barcelona’s humiliating 8-2 defeat against Bayern Munich in the Champions League. His position at the club instantly started looking untenable amid a massive clean-up that is going on within the Barcelona camp. In the turmoil-filled 2019/2020 season, Abidal has been at the centre of controversy as Sporting director, and as the season wore on, he fell out of favor with a number of players within the Blaugrana squad. Perhaps the most sensational slice of controversy was when he was involved in a public spat with Lionel Messi, who openly criticized him for calling out the squad after a poor run of form. Abidal only lasted two years at the helm as he took over the director role in 2018 after the departure of Pep Segura. The fact that influential players such as Messi fell out of favor with Abidal further put his job at risk in recent months. Recommended for you "Chinese man emptied my bank account": Actor Prince Eke calls out telecoms... As director, Abidal oversaw the signings of the likes of backup goalkeeper Neto , Junior Firpo and the Antoinne Griezzman, who was bought for a massive $135million. PAY ATTENTION: Become a member of the leading sports Facebook group 'Naija Football Fan Zone' Meanwhile, Legit.ng had earlier reported that Neymar will be involved in a player plus cash deal to make a sensational return to Barcelona, according to reports. The Catalan side are reportedly ready to involve French striker Antoine Griezmann plus £54million to bring the Paris Saint-Germain star back to Camp Nou. The Spanish giants have been currently disorganized following their Champions League thrashing at the hands of Bayern Munich. How we mistakenly celebrated Yakubu’s miss at 2010 World Cup – Brown Ideye | Legit TV Source: Legit.ng - Eric Abidal served as club sporting director since 2018 shortly after his retirement - The Frenchman fell out of favor with players after criticizing them during the season - The Barcelona legend was publicly involved in a spat with club captain Lionel Messi - Abidal's sacking comes barely 24 hours after the dismissal of manager Quique Setien PAY ATTENTION: PAY ATTENTION: Legit.ng How we mistakenly celebrated Yakubu’s miss at 2010 World Cup – Brown Ideye “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 blaugrana family,” a statement on Barcelona read.