Barcelona are now set to face legal battles, and its not Lionel Messi behind it. According to reports, former head coach Quique Setien is taking the Catalan giants to court over contract disputes regarding his job termination.
In a statement released on his social media page, Setien revealed that he and three coaches in Eder Sarabia, Jon Pascua, and Fran Soto will seek settlements following their sack by Barcelona at the end of last season.
Setien was relieved of his head coach role after he failed to win a single trophy since taking over at the helm from Spanish manager Ernesto Valverde, as Barcelona lost in the finals of the Copa Del Rey, while Real Madrid clinched the La Liga title.
To make matters worse, Barcelona crashed out of the 2019/20 UEFA Champions League campaign with a humiliating 8-2 quarter-finals defeat to eventual winners Bayern Munich.
The 61-year-old has now come out to reveal that he did not receive written communication of his dismissal until just yesterday, September 16.
Setien’s said in his statement: “Quique Setien, Eder Sarabia, Jon Pascua and Fran Soto communicate that, due to the latest information published, we want to make the following clarification.
“After a month of absolute silence from the FC Barcelona board of directors, and after various requests from us, it was not until yesterday that we finally received the first official communications, via burofax. These communications reveal the clear intention of the directive not to comply with their employment contracts dated 01/14/2020.
“In my case, Quique Setien, it is public and well known that on August 17, both the Club and the President announced my dismissal with immediate effect. However, it was not until yesterday, September 16 (a month later), that they sent me, for the first time, the written communication of said dismissal (without any settlement).
“Regarding the rest of the coaching staff, they informed us, also yesterday, to our surprise, of a “future relocation” within the Club.
He continued: “For all of the above reasons, we have been forced to put the conflict resolution in the hands of our lawyers, having to file the corresponding legal actions. And this, in order to preserve our rights and what was already agreed with FC Barcelona.”
Spanish outlet AS reports that Setien will, however, receive a €4million pay due in his contract for the 2020-21 season.
