Carles Puyol Exit, Andoni Zubizarreta Sacking Underline Barcelona Turmoil

Monday's ouster of Andoni Zubizarreta, and the announcement of Carles Puyol's resignation shortly thereafter, are just the latest indications that FC Barcelona are in a state of administrative turmoil that could have rippling consequences for club president Josep Maria Bartomeu, manager Luis Enrique and four-time Ballon d'Or winner Lionel Messi.

Zubizarreta, who had been director of football at Camp Nou since 2010, was relieved of his duties following an afternoon board meeting, as per a club statement, and later in the day retired defender Carles Puyol quit his post as assistant sporting director, announcing his decision on Facebook.

"

Puyol has quit Barça now. Will the last one out please switch off the lights?

— AS English (@English_AS) January 5, 2015"

Bartomeu, who is finding himself under increasing pressure at the Primera Division giants, will hold a press conference on Wednesday (4:00 p.m. CET) in which he will presumably discuss the tipping dominoes that could end up toppling his presidency before all is said and done.

On Sunday, as Barcelona went down to the 1-0 defeat at Real Sociedad that proved to be the final straw for the board, former president Joan Laporta posted a cryptic Facebook message, according to Sport, that hinted at a return to the Catalan outfit.

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"Right now I am threading a needle with a purpose which I will not reveal, but I am starting to mend it," he wrote, quoting the poet Miquel Marti i Pol.

Laporta left the club in 2010 and was replaced by Sandro Rosell, who had previously backed a campaign to overthrow the Laporta-led regime. But Rosell resigned as president last January as the allegations of "misappropriated funds" in the Neymar acquisition, as reported by The Guardian, made his position untenable. He named Bartomeu his successor.

Three months later, Barcelona icon Johan Cruyff shed some light on the dysfunction at board level when he told El Mundo, as relayed by Inside Spanish Football, that "those who know least are those who are making the decisions."

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The Dutchman also spoke glowingly about the Laporta era, which he described as "fantastic."

Tellingly, Cruyff's comments echoed similar remarks made by Lionel Messi in December of 2013 that lambasted the current administration, and Bartomeu's right-hand man in particular.

"Senior Faus is someone who doesn't know anything about football and wants to manage Barcelona like a business, which is not," he said, according to The Telegraph, and in reference to vice president Javier Faus, who operates the club's economic and strategic departments.

Manu Fernandez/Associated Press

He added: "Barcelona is the best club in the world and should be represented by the best board members, too."

Monday's revelations would seem to suggest there is a movement at the club to give him his wish.

Incidentally, Messi was absent from Monday's open training session with a reported case of gastroenteritis, as per Sport. Meanwhile, radio outlet Cadena Cope revealed the 27-year-old had already approached the board about his concerns, among them Enrique, according to AS.

Not surprisingly, the Argentina international has since been linked with a £200 million move to Chelsea by the Express, but whether it be the Blues, Manchester City or Paris Saint-Germain, the likelihood of a big-money transfer will only become more and more realistic as the player clashes with Barcelona's administration and grows increasingly tired of being hounded by the Spanish tax authorities.

In that light, the Zubizarreta sacking can perhaps be cast as something of an olive branch held out for Messi. It's certainly bad news for Enrique, who was defended by the 53-year-old until the last. But it wasn't enough for Puyol.

Zubizarreta, for his part, went out blaming everyone but himself for Barcelona's woes.

Following Sunday's defeat at the Anoeta, he pointed to Bartomeu as "the one who knows the situation better than anyone" when asked about the club's transfer ban, according to Inside Spanish Football. And when queried about Enrique's team selection, which saw both Messi and Neymar benched from the start, he remarked that the manager "knows the squad's condition and picks his team in accordance with what he considers best," as per Football-Espana.

"[Enrique] will give explanations at press conferences," he added.

Zubizaretta may have been Monday's scapegoat, the proverbial sacrificial lamb, but he will not be the only casualty between now and the 2016 elections. Barcelona's domino train is only gaining momentum and will not stop with him.

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