Barcelona has decided to part ways with sporting director Eric Abidal as the club looks to do some housecleaning in the next few weeks.
Following an 8-2 thrashing at the feet of Bayern Munich in the UEFA Champions League quarterfinals, Barcelona has a lot of moves to make after three straight early exits from the most prestigious league in Europe, and Eric Abidal's was a must, as the architect of this team.
“FC Barcelona and Éric Abidal have reached an agreement for the ending of the contract that united the two parties,” the official statement read. “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.”
Barcelona fans have been calling for a change in management, starting with president Josep Maria Bartomeu, who's led the club since 2014 following the resignation of Sandro Rosell.
The Spanish supergiants are in crisis mode at the moment, considering it's the first time in years where they have failed to capture a single title. Besides falling short in the UEFA Champions League quarterfinals, they also lost a title race to bitter rival Real Madrid, as the latter swept the rug during the restart, despite Barcelona being in the lead before a sizable hiatus.
Eric Abidal was a former defender for Barcelona and even played with club legend Lionel Messi during his early days, but this is only the start of a new leaf, as the club looks into revamping its squad, starting with the hiring of new coach Ronald Koeman in the next few days.