The French international has said his agent is meeting the club on Thursday and that his intention is to stay at Barça for another two years.
Abidal the joker
Éric Abidal is one of the jokers in the FCB pack. This was evident at the Ciutat Esportiva today,
when the Frenchman, once the session was over, helped the team’s press officer by announcing
the forthcoming schedule for press conferences and training sessions.
The last time Éric Abidal gave a press conference, he spoke very sincerely about his contract
situation. He made it clear that he wanted to get back to the same level of fitness that he showed
before his liver tumour operation before negotiating his future at FC Barcelona. On Monday, Abidal
was in front of the media again and said “I’m perfectly healthy and I’m trying to
show that on the pitch”.
Meeting on Thursday
Abidal explained that his agent will be holding talks with the club on Thursday to
discuss his renewal. There is no agreement yet, but the Frenchman said that “it is not a
problem with money, it’s about seasons”, saying that he would like to sign for two more
years. It is his desire to continue defending the Barça jersey and “I am sure that we will
reach an agreement”. As Abidal has often said in the past, “my idea is to carry on
playing here, because it’s the best club in the world”.
Attitudes to injury
Abidal was injured in Gijón, just before the international break. He went to France
regardless and missed the first match because “it was hurting” but did play the second
because “I didn’t have any problems.” Abidal insisted that “we are
intelligent when we feel pain. We think it is best to rest for a few days and then get back to
training. Because if you carry on training then the injury could end up lasting longer … the
season is long and we all have to be at our best.”
Overhead kick against Racing
In the game against Racing Santander, Éric Abidal almost scored a cracking goal
from a bicycle kick. “If I’d connected right, it would have gone in”, he said,
while a screen in the pressroom showed a replay of the action.
But the Racing Santander game is now history, and the team is preparing for the European
fixture with FC Viktoria. Abidal knows that there are no easy games in the Champions League, and
that the back-to-back encounters with the Czech outfit are important because “there are six
points at stake, and if we get them we are in the last sixteen”.