After Quique Setien, Barcelona sack Eric Abidal

Barcelona on Tuesday sacked sporting director Eric Abidal following the dismissal of head coach Quique Setien as the Spanish club looks towards a rebuilding phase following a series of disappointing results on the pitch. 

"FC Barcelona and Eric Abidal have reached an agreement for the ending of the contract that united them," the club said on its website.

“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,” the statement added.

Like Setien, Abidal, a former Barcelona player and French international defender, paid the price of Barcelona’s disappointing results on the pitch as they surrendered the La Liga title to Real Madrid before crashing out of the UEFA Champions League after a humiliating 8-2 defeat to German club Bayern Munich. 

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Abidal had been in role for over two years but was sacked following one of club’s worst seasons. The Frenchman was also the target of criticism for megastar Lionel Messi earlier this year, who accused his former teammate of blaming the players 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.

Meanwhile, Barcelona are lining up former defender and current Netherlands coach Ronald Koeman to replace Quique Setien at the Camp Nou next season. It is being reported that Koeman will leave his current job to join the Catalan club.