Eric Abidal biography

Éric Abidal, born 11 September 1979 in Saint-Genis-Laval, is a former professional French footballer who played mainly as a defender. Abidal began his career at AS Monaco on 16 September 2000, during which he played 22 matches. Subsequently, Abidal moved to OSC Lille and played 62 games in the first team. He then returned to Olympique Lyon at the end of 2004.

In the defensive line of Lyon, he played alongside French international Grégory Coupet, and Brazilian internationals Cris and Claudio Caçapa. Abidal won the French national title with Olympique in 2005, 2006 and 2007 and the French Supercup in 2005.

He then left Olympique Lyonnais in 2007 to join FC Barcelona. The club paid 15 million euros for him. Together with FC Barcelona, he won the Spanish national title, the Copa del Rey, the UEFA Champions League, the Supercopa de España, the UEFA Supercup and the Club World Cup in 2009. During the UCL final against Manchester United, however, he was suspended. Abidal won the league title in 2010 and 2011 again.

In 2012, Abidal stopped playing football temporarily due to a tumour and subsequent liver transplant, however, on 6 April 2013, he returned to FC Barcelona to an ovational applause from almost 100,000 spectators. The Frenchman was told on 30 May 2013 that his expiring contract would not be extended. On 21 June, his agent announced that he would join AS Monaco on a free transfer.

It was officially confirmed on 8 July 2013. Following one year at Monaco, Abidal went on to join Olympiakos Piraeus until mid-2016, but his spell there did not last that long. Following six months in the Greek team, Abidal announced his retirement from football on 19 December 2014.

All You Need to Know About Eric Abidal biography

On 18 August 2004, Abidal debuted for the French national team in the match against Bosnia and Herzegovina. The defender took part in the final lost at the 2006 World Cup and he participated in six of France's seven matches.

He was among the French squad for the 2010 World Cup. Head coach Didier Deschamps did not include Abidal in the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. Abidal announced his retirement from international duty one month after the tournament.

Eric Abidal Information

Now that we know the French footballer much better, in this section of

Eric Abidal biography

we will share more general information about him such as

Eric Abidal nationality

to let you know him even better.

Eric Abidal Bio

• Full Name: Eric Sylvain Abidal

• Nickname: French

• Profession: Professional Footballer

Eric Abidal Physical Stats

• Weight: 75 Kg

• Height: 1.86 m

• Eye Color: Dark Brown

• Hair Color: Black

Eric Abidal Football Information

• Position: Defender

• Jersey Number: 22

• Professional Debut: 2000

Eric Abidal Date of Birth and Personal Info

• Date of Birth: 11 September 1979

• Birth Place: Saint-Genis-Laval, France

• Zodiac Sign: Virgo

• Nationality: French

Now stay tuned to this section of

Eric Abidal biography

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Eric Abidal childhood

.

Eric Abidal Early Life

Originally from Martinique, he grew up at AS Lyon-Duchère, a club in the Division d'honneur, before joining

in 2000. His debut in the first division came on 16 September 2000 against Toulouse at the Stade Louis-II, where AS Monaco won 3-0.

Unable to establish himself, he was sent on loan to

for the 2002-2003 season, where he played some good games under his former coach Claude Puel, and Lille chose to exercise their option to buy him.

During the 2003-2004 season, he emerged as one of the best defenders in the league, particularly with the arrival of Efstáthios Tavlarídis in the winter transfer window, with whom he made a formidable central defence.

Eric Abidal Profile

Although many people were already expecting him to play for the French national team, he never got to experience the joys of selection in a Lille shirt. Now stay tuned to this section of Eric Abidal biography as we want to share some info about his OL career.

Olympique Lyonnais

In late 2004, he moved back to his native region by signing a four-year contract with French champions

, while Paris Saint-Germain also wanted to sign him. A few days after making his debut for the French club, Abidal was given the chance to play on the left side of the defence, the position he would play in during his time at Lyon.

Within days of debuting for Lyon, France coach Raymond Domenech handed him his first start for the national team in a match against Bosnia-Herzegovina on 18 August 2004. He was a substitute against Sweden on 9 February 2005.

Abidal scored his first goal for Lyon in the 2007 League Cup semi-final against Le Mans (1-0). However, in the final, Lyon lost to Bordeaux.

At this point, Abidal decided to move to another country. FC Barcelona coach Frank Rijkaard was looking to bring him in and suggested a swap with Javier Saviola, which was rejected by Lyon president Jean-Michel Aulas. Saviola's contract had expired and Lyon was able to recruit him without paying a transfer fee.

When the Catalan club insisted, Aulas offered a transfer fee of 20 million euros. Abidal was officially transferred on 29 June 2007 for €16 million and was handed a four-year contract. Abidal replaced left-back Giovanni van Bronckhorst and was joined by former Monaco players and French internationals Thierry Henry and Lilian Thuram.

Now stay tuned to this section of

Eric Abidal biography

as we want to share some info about his career in Barcelona.

FC Barcelona

Eric Abidal was signed in 2007 and became part of the

team that won all six titles in 2009 (an all-time record in the history of football): the

, the Spanish league, the Spanish cup, the European Supercup, the Spanish Supercup and the Club World Cup.

Abidal scored his first goal for Barça on 5 January 2011 in the second leg of the last 16 of the Copa del Rey match against Athletic Bilbao at the Stadio San Mamés, qualifying his team for the next round.

Barcelona announced on 15 March 2011 that he was suffering from a liver tumour and would need to undergo surgery. The surgery, which was scheduled for the following Friday, was moved to Thursday. Dr Josep Fuster Obregon performed the surgery at the Barna Clinic.

He returned to the Catalan squad on 3 May to play against

in the second leg of the Champions League semi-final, replacing Carles Puyol in the 90th minute to the cheers of the Camp Nou. He continued his recovery on 8 May by playing 20 minutes in the Catalan derby against Espanyol.

Then on 11 May 2011, he made his first start since surgery and went on to play 61 minutes in the match where Barcelona officially won the Spanish league title. The objective for Abidal was to be able to play in the Champions League final on 28 May against

.

He started the game at Wembley in place of captain

, who had just returned from injury, and Barcelona won 3-1. Following the match, Puyol and Xavi, the regular captains, handed the armband to Abidal and allowed him to lift the trophy first to celebrate his return, just two months after his operation.

Abidal wore the captain's armband in France's friendly against Chile at the Stade de la Mosson in Montpellier on 10 August 2011. The game was a draw (1-1) and he was given credit for a good game.

At the start of the 2011-2012 season, he decided to extend his contract with FC Barcelona, despite some interesting offers, particularly from Paris Saint-Germain, recently bought by Qatari investors. In addition, he was among the 23 players selected for the Ballon d'Or in spite of an illness that almost ended his career in March.

During 2011, he won five titles with Barcelona, including the Champions League,

and the Club World Cup. The Catalan club announced on 15 March 2012 that Éric Abidal must undergo a liver transplant because of his liver disease. The operation took place on 10 April 2012 at the Hospital Clinic in Barcelona.

Early September 2012, Abidal was included in Barcelona's 25-man squad for the group stage of the Champions League. The Catalan media reported on 18 December 2012 that Eric Abidal was given the green light by doctors to return to football. Abidal resumed training with the Barcelona team the following day.

Eric Abidal, with FC Barcelona B, played his first match after his liver transplant against Istres on 19 March 2013. He made his official return to the Barcelona first team on 6 April 2013, a full 402 days after his last game, when he replaced Gerard Piqué in the 70th minute of the game against RCD Mallorca (a 5-0 victory).

When the Catalan club refused to renew his contract on 30 May 2013, Eric Abidal declared at a press conference that he would end his six-season stint at Barça. For the 2013-2014 season, Dani Alves swapped his number 2 (his usual number) for the number 22 as a homage to his former teammate Eric Abidal. He played 193 games for Barcelona, which made him the French player with the most appearances for Barcelona.

AS Monaco

Abidal returned to AS Monaco on 8 July 2013, when he signed a one-season contract (plus an option), thirteen years after his debut in the club. He made his return to the French national team a month later and played in a friendly against

on Wednesday 14 August 2013.

However, he had a poor season as he lost his place in the starting line-up as the season unfolded, leading him to miss the

in Brazil, but he still extended his contract by one year. Now stay tuned to this section of Eric Abidal biography as we want to share some info about his career in Greece.

Olympiacos

In spite of his contract extension, the Frenchman left AS Monaco and joined

on 5 July 2014. He announced on 13 August 2014 that he would end his career with the French national team. In a press conference on 19 December 2014, he announced his retirement from professional football.

Barcelona sporting director

President Josep Maria Bartomeu named Éric Abidal as Barcelona's sporting director on 7 June 2018, as a replacement for Roberto Fernández. As a result of the Catalan club's exit from the Champions League quarter-finals on 14 August 2020 against

(8-2 defeat), Barça started a major overhaul of its first team. On 17 August, coach

was fired. The following day, the club declared that an agreement had been reached with Eric Abidal to end their partnership with Barcelona.

Now stay tuned to this section of Eric Abidal biography as we want to share some info about his playing style.

Style of Play

Eric Abidal was a player capable of playing as either a left-back or a central defender. He was a very tactically gifted player, quick in his progressions and well aware of his abilities, appreciated for his excellent sense of position by many football pundits.

Reception

Abidal is considered by many football fans and critics to be one of the best French defenders of his time during the 2010s and if it wasn’t for his physical problems, he would have been able to play for so many years to come in the highest level of European football.

Eric Abidal outside Football

Abidal was diagnosed with cancer in March 2011, having a tumour discovered in his liver. He was operated on and made his comeback on 3 May 2011 in Barcelona's second Champions League semi-final against Real Madrid, where he was hailed by his teammates after the match. In 2011, Barcelona won the Champions League final against Manchester United at Wembley in London, with Abidal lifting the trophy first of all as a tribute to him after his cancer surgery.

Almost a year later after he was diagnosed with cancer, FC Barcelona declared on 15 March 2012 that Abidal should undergo a liver transplant and will be away from the game. Abidal was discharged from the hospital on 21 May to complete his recovery at home. The doctors announced on 1 June that Abidal may be able to play football again in the near future if he wants to. Abidal returned to play for Barcelona on 6 April 2013 after his rehabilitation.

Eric Abidal Personal Life

In this section of Eric Abidal biography, we will take a deeper look into his personal life and share some information about things like

Eric Abidal life story

and

Eric Abidal religion

, stay tuned.

Family, Children and Relationships

He has converted to Islam and chose Bilal as his Muslim name. Since 2003 Eric has been married to Hayet Kebir. The couple has five children: daughter Meliana Abidal (born March 2004), daughter Canelia Abidal (born 3 February 2006), daughter Leina Abidal (born 25 November 2009), daughter Kenya Abidal (born 8 February 2016) and son Edan Abidal (born 20 July 2017).

Philanthropy

During his career, especially after he fought cancer, Eric Abidal has participated in many charitable activities. In 2016, together with his wife Hayet, he founded the Eric Abidal Foundation to help children fighting cancer.

Legal Issues

After his liver transplant in 2012, the National Transplant Organisation and the Spanish Public Prosecutor's Office opened an investigation in 2017, on suspicion of organ trafficking. The alleged origin of the liver was a donation from his cousin "Gérard". The investigation was discontinued for lack of evidence but was subsequently reopened when phone recordings suggesting an illegal purchase were released to the press in July 2018.

Eric Abidal Career Statistics

In this section of Eric Abidal biography, we will take a look at his career stats on the international and club level.

Club

In a rather short playing career, which he had to put an end to because of physical problems, Eric Abidal played a total of 446 matches and scored 5 goals for different clubs in

, Spain and Greece. With 193 matches played, he had spent the majority of his career with Barcelona.

International

Between 2004 and 2013, Eric Abidal went on to play 67 matches for the France national football team, without being able to score many goals for them. He played 15 of those matches in 2006, which included 6 games in the 2006 World Cup in Germany.

Eric Abidal Honors

As a player on the club level, he has managed to win trophies with Lyon, Olympiacos and Barcelona, including the

, Trophée des Champions, La Liga, Copa del Rey, Supercopa de España, UEFA Champions League, Super League Greece, FIFA Club World Cup and UEFA Super Cup, among others.

In 2006, he also finished runner-up in the 2006 World Cup after he and the French national team lost the final match against Italy.

Of his notable individual titles and awards, we can include Ligue 1 Team of the Year, UEFA Team of the Year, LFP Defender of the Year, FC Barcelona Player of the Season, Premio Internazionale Giacinto Facchetti and some others.

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