Abidal, who played alongside Messi at Camp Nou, in an interview with Sport said: “A lot of players were not happy and did not work much and there was also a problem with internal communication.
On why Ernesto Valverde was sacked, Abidal added that “there are things that as an ex-player I can sense. I told the club what I thought and we had to make a decision.”
But Messi has responded to Abidal’s comments, telling him to face his work and to name names whenever he talks about the squad.
“I honestly do not like to do this kind of thing but I think that everyone has to be responsible for their job and take responsibility for their decisions.
“Players are responsible for what happens on the field, we are also the first to acknowledge when we don’t play well,” he wrote on Instagram.
Messi went to further to say that “those in charge of sporting direction should also face up to their responsibilities and above all take charge of their own decisions”, before warning that “when you talk about players, you should give names because otherwise you are tainting everyone’s name and feeding rumours that spread and are not true.”
