Barcelona have terminated the contract of sporting director Andoni Zubizarreta, the Catalan club announced on Monday.

Zubizarreta took up the role in 2010 as Sandro Rosell succeeded Joan Laporta as president, but was an unpopular figure among many of the fans following the side's troubles in the transfer market in recent years.

"The president of FC Barcelona, Josep Maria Bartomeu, has decided to rescind the contract of sporting director Andoni Zubizarreta," the Blaugrana announced in a statement on Monday.

"The president, in the name of the club, would like to thank Andoni Zubizarreta for his contribution, dedication and professionalism in these four years as sporting director."

Zubizarreta played for Barca between 1986 and 1994, appearing more than 400 times for the Catalan club.

The Basque had been in a precarious position for some time, but his public criticism of Bartomeu on Sunday appears to have been the final straw for the Barca board.

Asked - after Luis Enrique's side had lost 1-0 at Real Sociedad - about the club's transfer ban for irregularities in the signing of young players, Zubizarreta said: "I take full responsibility for my duties. [But] Mr. Bartomeu knows the situation better than anyone as he was sporting vice-president during that time."

I guess @Tiki_Taka and multiple other Barcelona fans will be happy. :D

(Source: Goal.com)

Link: http://www.goal.com/en/news/12/spain/2015/01/05/7684932/barcelona-terminate-zubizarreta-contract?ICID=HP_HN_1

Also, Puyol resigned too.

"These three and a half months have given me the opportunity to see the other side of the club. I have learned a lot, I am very grateful, but I want to experience other things from another perspective and from other places."

Hope these won't lead to a chaos. But Barcelona is a big club. I doubt that it will lead to that.

turbulent times ahead??

The chaos is already there, Zubi failed to attract any world class CB and anticipate a transition for midlefield, things cant be worst for the direction but it never affects the team, thats a change of sporting director.
He had 3 years to find a replacement of Puyol, went on desperate move on Thiago Silva interested but not for Sale, and this year making a panic buy in the RB position signing a 6M an inexperienced unknown Brazilian player ( Brazilian press was amazed by the move as well ) while they were linked all the summer with Cuadrado and Hummells, went again on Marquinhos while PSG wants to have a name, their starting players arent for sale, thats completely failing while you have one of the biggest budgets on the planet...

What is good in Spain is that presidents fear the elections who take part in Barça's case in 2016, Laporta is very active on social networks and the board feels the pressure, if they want to be elected again they should win this year at least a silverware, they have all the keys and could have signed any great coach available and move on players likely to come...
Crisis in last years are very short, being banned by transfers and firing Crujf from his honourable presidency, they even tried to make a Horizontal stripes in the next year kit, but the fans refused.

Rossell made the a great economical work reducing dept and optimizing marketting products and introducing big contrats sponsors, but he and his direction were clueless on Footballing decisions, which was Laporta's biggest quality.
So i think Laporta will be elected in 2016 and find a healthy Barça with no signing restrictions.

The real question is if the current squad will be strong enough to beat Europeen giants with a decent coach ? Lol when you remember Barça being without a coach for 3 months while Tito (RIP) wasnt showing signs of recovering, and still won the league, those players are wasted by a disastrous management.

^Agreed.

If no one wants to read tiki Taka's book, in other words, Zubizaretta to Barcelona was like Moyes to Man United.

lol SoccerBoss you always make me laugh ffs.

Bartomeu calls early elections.