ALBA JOINS ABIDAL CRITICISM

BILBAO: Barcelona defender Jordi Alba joined captain Lionel Messi in criticising the club’s sporting director Eric Abidal.

Abidal, a former teammate of Messi and Alba, had told newspaper Sport that he felt some Barca players were not working hard enough under Valverde, which led to him advising club president Josep Maria Bartomeu to sack the coach.

“This club gets enough s**t thrown at it from the outside so we shouldn’t be throwing s**t at ourselves,” Alba told reporters.

“Abidal was a player, he is loved by the fans and that’s why he should know what it’s like inside the dressing room and how players feel,” he added.