Lionel Messi has taken to Instagram to respond to Eric Abidal after Barcelona’s director of football accused some players of not working hard enough.Abidal gave an exclusive interview with Sport in which he divulged details of Barcelona’s problems under former boss Ernesto Valverde, which led to the Spaniard’s sacking.“Many players were not satisfied or didn’t work hard and there was also an internal communication issue,” Abidal told Sport, per Sport Witness.“The relationship between manager and dressing room has always been good, but there are things that I can smell as a former player.“I told the club what I thought and had to make a decision.”

In a stunning turn of events, Messi has gone public with his reaction.

The Argentinian forward posted on Instagram saying the director should name the players who were apparently slacking - or else everyone could be blamed.

“I honestly don’t like to do these things but I think everyone has to be responsible for their tasks and take care of their decisions,” Messi wrote, his post transcribed by Sport Witness.

“The players for what happens on the pitch, and we are also the first to acknowledge when we were not good.

"Those responsible for the area of sports management must also assume their responsibilities and above all take charge of the decisions they make.

“Finally, I think that when talking about players, we should give names because otherwise we are getting everyone dirty and feeding things that are said and are not true.”

The last thing that Barcelona wanted was for their star man to go public against the board.

His comments will be on the front page of the Spanish sport newspapers tomorrow morning.