Monday 24 June 2013

Abidal close to Monaco switch


Eric Abidal is close to a return to Ligue 1 newcomers Monaco, his agent has confirmed.
The 33-year-old, who recovered from a liver transplant to return to action in April, will be a free agent at the end of the month after Barcelona announced their intention not to renew his contract.

A number of clubs across Europe are thought to hold an interest in the full-back but Abidal’s representative David Ventidelli revealed that his preference is to return to France.
Claudio Ranieri’s side have lured a number of world-class players to the principality, with Falcao, James Rodriguez, Joao Moutinho and Ricardo Carvalho all agreeing to move to the Stade Louis II.
Abidal now looks set to join them, with Ventidelli admitting that a short-team deal with the club he played for between 2000 and 2002 is in the offing.
He told Fichajes: “(Monaco, Lyon and Montpellier) are interested in Abidal. There’s interest from other leagues too, but Eric’s preference is to return to France for family reasons. Monaco are his number one choice.”
“(The Monaco offer) is a relatively short contract because Eric is 33 years old. Despite the health problems he’s had, he is in good shape. The contract duration will be short but there could be options afforded to the player once we’ve completed negotiations.
“Negotiations with Monaco will be settled one way or another by next week as Eric has other proposals. We must be respectful to other clubs.”

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