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Éric Abidal

Éric Abidal
Éric Abidal - 001.jpg
Abidal in training with Barcelona in 2008
Personal information
Full name Éric Sylvain Abidal
Date of birth (1979-09-11) 11 September 1979 (age 37)
Place of birth Saint-Genis-Laval, France
Height 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in)
Playing position Defender
Youth career
Lyon Duchère
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1999–2000 Lyon Duchère
2000–2001 Monaco B 8 (0)
2000–2002 Monaco 22 (0)
2002–2004 Lille 62 (0)
2004–2007 Lyon 76 (0)
2007–2013 Barcelona 125 (0)
2013–2014 Monaco 26 (0)
2014 Olympiacos 9 (0)
Total 328 (0)
National team
2004–2013 France 67 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.

Éric Sylvain Abidal (French pronunciation: ​[eʁik abidal]; born 11 September 1979) is a French retired professional footballer who played as a left back or a central defender.

In his career he played mainly for Lyon and Barcelona, winning 21 major titles the two teams combined, including two Champions League trophies with the latter. His later career was marked by liver disease, resulting in a transplant.

A French international across nine years, Abidal represented the nation in two World Cupsfinishing second in 2006 – and Euro 2008.

Born in Saint-Genis-Laval, Metropolis of Lyon, Abidal started playing with AS Lyon Duchère, an amateur team in the suburbs. He started his professional career with AS Monaco FC, making his Ligue 1 debut on 16 September 2000 in a 3–0 home win against Toulouse FC but only appearing in 22 league matches over the course of two full seasons.

Abidal transferred to fellow league club Lille OSC for 2002–03, reuniting with former manager Claude Puel and being first-choice during his spell. Subsequently, he returned to his native region and joined Olympique Lyonnais.


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