Tensions at Barcelona have boiled over.

It was only a matter of time before someone at the club responded to the some of the criticism being bandied around – such as Éric Abidal’s none-too-subtle accusations in an interview with Sport in which he criticized former coach Ernesto Valverde and doubted Xavi’s credentials to return to the club as first-team coach.

The first person to reply to Barça’s Technical Secretary was Leo Messi, who has hit back via a message on Instagram. Messi referred to a line in Abidal’s interview with Sport in which he said,

“A lot of the players were not satisfied and many of them were not working very hard”.

Now, Messi has sent a barbed reply to Abidal, asking him to take responsibilities for his actions.

“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”.

Messi’s reaction highlights just how serious the institutional crisis at Barcelona has become – because every declaration made by the Argentinean in public, more so if it is critical, has immediate consequences. This will surely be no exception