Eric Abidal has already decided: sooner or later to return to FC Barcelona. The French defender is playing at Olympiacos, “the final phase of his career” and he is beginning to think about life after hanging the boots.When that time comes, it is clear, he will return to Barcelona, the club where he played for the glory, accepting the offer made in 2013 by the Barca board.
Some news have it that Abidal has decided to hang up his boots this season and hope to rejoin Barca. It is his intention to retire this year, although initially the player stepped out of the news to avoid problems with the fans of Olympiacos. The novelty is that the French already knows what he will do: return to the club where he is a real crowd-pleaser for his integrity to his ailment.
That’s the reality: ‘Abi’ has decided to return to Barca, but have not defined the ‘timing’ of his return. “Right now he is playing and being important” says Michel. The Frenchman signed for Greek club last July from Monaco and has since become one of the regulars of the Greek side.
The best proof of this is that he has started all four games of their Champions League group that Olympiacos has played so far, two of them against Juventus, one against Atletico Madrid and another against Malmö.
After four days, Olympiakos is second in the group and remains hopeful for the knockout round of the Champions League.
Since he is a player who has the confidence of his coach, it’s still not clear when he will announce his retirement to join Barca. There are two options: One coincides with the winter break, the other- end of the current season.
Abidal is aiming to take the position of: the sporting director of FCB Escoles (FCB schools) that are scattered throughout the world. This is what was offered in 2013 when the club decided not to renew his contract as a player. Abidal has given the big news by saying ‘yes‘ to the offer.
The French did not miss work. At present there are eleven FCB Escoles in the world, particularly those in Sao Paulo, Miami, Santo Domingo, Lima, Rio de Janeiro, Warsaw, Dubai, New Delhi, Singapore, Seoul and Fukuoka. The headquater is in Barcelona, obviously, and there are other branches in other parts of the Spanish geography.
The work of Eric Abidal will be to ascertain that in all the schools, the FC Barcelona football model that is applied to the base of the football club is implemented.
Also indirectly Abidal will become an extraordinary ambassador and recognized around the world of FC Barcelona. The French is a beloved player by Barça fans for the enormous fortitude with which he faced his disease, liver cancer when he had surgery twice, once to remove his tumor and to undergo yet another liver transplant.
Well