Thursday, March 28News That Matters

Setien admits he could be sacked as Barca coach after Messi’s explosive interview

Barcelona’s under-pressure manager Quique Setien concedes he is unsure if he will still be in charge of the team for the resumption of the Champions League after Lionel Messi blasted the side.

The Catalans were beaten 2-1 by Osasuna on Thursday, with Real Madrid’s win over Villarreal sealing the league title for Zidane’s side.




Messi was furious after the match in an explosive interview, labelling the team ‘weak’ and says thingw need to ‘change a lot’ at the club before they face Napoli in their Champions League last-16 clash.

‘If we continue like this, we will lose the game against Napoli,’ warned Messi, with suggestions in the Spanish media that he would like to see Setien ousted before the competition gets back underway in August.

Setien could not disagree with anything Messi said in his interview and conceded he did not know what would happen with his future at the club.

‘I am responsible for our situation, as I am the manager of the team,’ said the 61-year-old after the disappointing 2-1 defeat to Osasuna.




‘I hope we will face the Champions League this summer as a different team, but I am not sure about what happens next for me.

‘I agree with the post-match comments from Lionel Messi about self-criticism, and we must look at ourselves in the coming weeks.’




Barcelona still have one game against Alaves to play on Sunday and then a three-week break until they play second-leg game with Napoli, having drawn the first leg 1-1 away at the Italian side’s home ground.

With the implication that Setien may need to leave, Lionel Messi said last night: ‘Everything we have experienced since January has been very bad.

‘We have to change a lot of things for real. The fans are running out of patience because we’re not giving them anything. It’s normal.’

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

× Click Here To Make Advert Enquiry