French defender Eric Abidal has announced his retirement from professional football. The former Barcelona defender will play his last match for Olympiakos, against Kalloni on Saturday.
He said that ‘personal reasons’ caused his announcement, saying:
“Today I announce my decision to end my career here at Olympiakos. The reasons are personal. Every top-level player understands that there comes a time and my time has come.”
Abidal is one of the most decorated footballers in recent years: he played in two World Cups in 2006 and 2010; won the Champions League twice for Barcelona in 2009 and 2011; and won a total of seven league titles at Lyon and Barcelona.
He showed his resilience and character in 2011, when he was diagnosed with a liver tumour. After a liver transplant in March 2012, he returned to training in December that year, and played for the Barcelona first-team in April 2013, before returning to former-club Monaco in the summer of that year.
After one year at Monaco, he moved to Greek giants Olympiakos, for whom he played eight games before he announced his retirement today.
Football has lost one of its true legends, and let us hope that Abidal remains healthy for the rest of his life.
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