Report: Barcelona Set 'Urgent Meeting' with Eric Abidal After Lionel Messi Post

Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu has reportedly called for an "urgent meeting" with Eric Abidal after team talisman Lionel Messi criticised the club's director of football for comments made in a recent interview.

RAC-1 (h/t Juan Jimenez of AS) reported Bartomeu has scheduled a "clear-the-air meeting" for when the Frenchman returns to Barcelona from a business trip on Wednesday afternoon, with "speculation already rife with those well connected with the club that Bartomeu may decide to call time on Abidal's tenure at FC Barcelona."

Abidal told Sport's Lluis Miguelsanz that "many players weren't satisfied or working a lot" towards the end of Ernesto Valverde's tenure, with the former coach having been replaced by Quique Setien in January. The 40-year-old added there was an "internal communication problem" affecting performances.

Those comments led Messi to reply via an Instagram story (h/t Jimenez), in which he posted a screenshot of Abidal's quotes and captioned the image with his retort, via Agence France-Presse's Tom Allnutt:

AS translated the full post into English, which read:

"To be brutally honest, I don't like doing these things, but I think that every person has to take responsibility for their own duties and the decisions they take. That includes the players, in what goes on out on the pitch—but we are the first ones to recognise when we haven't played well. Those in charge of the Technical Area also need to assume their responsibilities and above all, the decisions that they make. Lastly, I think that when someone mentions players, they should give names, because if they don't, they are tarring everyone with the same brush and fuelling gossip—a lot of which is not true."

Abidal—who made 193 total appearances for the Blaugrana between 2007 and 2013—added that while all was well in terms of Valverde's relationship with the squad, there were things he "could smell" weren't right.

The former Barca defender replaced Robert Fernandez as the club's director in June 2018, five years after he left the Camp Nou as a player.

It's rare for Messi to become publicly involved in club dealings, and The Spanish Football Podcast said the Argentina international's frustration is based on the suggestion he was partly to blame for Valverde's dismissal:

The 32-year-old's contract at the Camp Nou is due to expire in June 2021, meaning Bartomeu and the rest of the boardroom may be particularly wary of upsetting their six-time Ballon d'Or winner.

Commentator Andy West suggested Abidal could be sacked but said it's the man who hired him, Bartomeu, who should be considered for the exit:

Setien has won four of his five matches since he took over at the Barca helm and is targeting a third successive victory when they face Athletic Bilbao in the Copa del Rey quarter-finals on Thursday.