Abidal hits out at Barcelona
Eric Abidal is angry at how his Barcelona career came to an end and claims he was not even paid by the club when he was seriously ill.
The 34-year-old Abidal had a liver transplant last April, ruling him out of the 2012 European Championship and keeping him away from football for one year. He returned to make a few appearances for Barcelona before leaving to join Monaco in the offseason.
“The problem was that my contract was coming to an end. In that case, either it’s renewed, either it ends. I was prepared for both,” Abidal told sports daily L’Equipe yesterday. “It was hard to accept but you don’t have the choice. The adventure with Barcelona is over, but I’m very happy to have started another one with Monaco.”
But Abidal said he was disappointed at how his departure was announced.
“What was hard to understand was what Barcelona said during my last press conference. By saying that it was a professional choice, it made other clubs doubt,” Abidal said. “It wasn’t even a question of money. The proof being that all the months I was ill, the club didn’t pay me. Now I’m lucky to have the trust of the Monaco coach and president. Touch wood, everything’s fine. But it’s true that there was a time when I doubted myself.”
Abidal has played 90 minutes for Monaco in every league game and was expected to play for France in its World Cup qualifier at Georgia.
After joining from Lyon in 2007, Abidal played 125 league games for Barcelona, helping the Catalan club to win four league titles and two European Cups. He forged a close bond with former coach Pep Guardiola, who is now in charge of Bayern Munich. “He’s someone who appreciates me enormously and I’m still in touch with,” Abidal said.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS
- |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证:沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证:31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证:0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证:沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证:沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.