Eric Abidal ready to retire from playing and re-join Barcelona in upstairs role
Eric Abidal will sign for Barcelona, for 2015. Whatever the Court of Arbitration for Sport decides about the club's transfer ban, their former player has decided he will hang up his boots at Olympiacos and take an upstairs role at Barça.
Radio Monte Carlo announced on Friday that the French defender is negotiating the termination of his contract with his club, which was set to expire anyway on June 30, 2015.
He is will take office at the Cituat Esportiva and start at Barcelona in January 2015, working as an executive director in the club's schools around the world. Abidal is expected to announce the decision shortly.
He will say goodbye to European football in the game the Greek side plays against Malmo before his final match ever being against Panionios in the last game before the winter break, on December 17.
At 34, he believes the time has come to say goodbye before his performance levels drop too steeply.
As SPORT revealed in late October, Abidal's family lives in Barcelona with his girls enrolled in a school uptown.
He will come for the Christmas vacation and the ceremony of the kings, before starting work at the club. He has already spoken to president Josep Maria Bartomeu and they have defined his work.
His office will be near Andoni Zubizarreta's but his work has nothing to do with the sporting director's.
Abidal will not be working 12 hours every day, but will have to travel to different schools around the world.
