Setien’s Barcelona Future Looks Blurry After Griezmann’s Family Slams Him On Social Media: Report

FC Barcelona manager Quique Setien has been reportedly attacked by Antoine Griezmann's family members on social media amid reports of his sacking at the end of the 2019-20 season.

The brother and father of Griezmann took to Twitter to vent their frustration after the Frenchman was brought in during the final four minutes of play against his former team Atletico Madrid recently in La Liga.

According to Spanish media outlet Sport, in now-deleted tweets, Griezmann’s younger brother Theo wrote, “Honestly, I am going to cry. Two minutes.” The two minutes were referred to the amount of game time his brother was given against Atletico in the match that ended in a 2-2 draw at Nou Camp.

It was Griezmann’s third straight game on the bench, and ever since La Liga resumed June after the three-month coronavirus break, the forward has started just one game, which was against Real Mallorca and even then, he was withdrawn early in the second half.

Meanwhile, it was Setien’s statements in a post-match interview after the Atletico game that irked Griezmann’s father.

While explaining the reason behind bringing Griezmann late in the match, Setien said he thought the team was playing well and by bringing the FIFA World Cup 2018 winner, he could have “destabilized the team”.

Not making things any better for himself amid reports that have suggested his departure from Nou Camp at the end of the current season, Setien added, "I’ll talk to him [Antoine]. I will not offer any apologies but I understand that he could be feeling bad, and I feel bad for him because he is a great professional and a great person."

Griezmann’s father Alain posted a screenshot of Setien's statements on his Instagram profile and slamming the manager, he wrote, “To make these types of declarations you need to have the keys to the car. This is not the case; you are only a passenger.”

Barcelona currently are one point behind La Liga leaders Real Madrid, who still have a game in hand. Earlier, former Barcelona veteran Xavi Hernandez had hinted that if Setien is sacked, he is ready to take over the team’s charge in the 2020-21 campaign.

When Ernesto Valverde was axed from the job, earlier this season, it was Xavi who was first offered Barca’s managerial role. However, the Spaniard had rejected the offer saying it was not the right time and remained with Qatar side Al Saad.

“The biggest hope I have now is to be Barca coach and get Barca back to winning ways. Not me but these players and Barca triumphing. And as a consequence, our technical staff, who are preparing for it a lot and it makes us really excited. It's clear that after the elections the stage would be set, of course. I'm not ruling anything out. They came for me in January, we were speaking. I told them the circumstances and timing weren't right,” Xavi said in a recent interview.