In his first interview after being fired from Barcelona as sports director, Eric Abidal spoke about his time in Catalonia. The 41-year-old said that he wanted to sack Ernesto Valverde much earlier and that he wanted Mauricio Pochettino to coach Barça instead of Quique Setien. But the club policy under ex-President Josep Bartomeu made his job difficult – even with the Neymar return campaign.
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Ex-sports director Eric Abidal gave the English daily The Telegraph an interview in which he talked about Ernesto Valverde’s dismissal, Neymar’s possible repatriation and the dispute with Lionel Messi, among other things.
Eric Abidal …
… about his first analysis of FC Barcelona six months after taking office as sports director in 2018: “I finished it in December and realized that we had to replace Ernesto Valverde. I said to President Bartomeu, ‘I think we have to make that decision now.’ But he just replied that it wasn’t that easy, ignored my advice and extended the Valverde contract. I accepted this decision and gave the trainer my full support. Still, the situation was a bit strange since I had proposed his release. “
… about the club’s internal coaching discussion after Ernesto Valverde’s dismissal in January 2020: “My list consisted of Mauricio Pochettino, Quique Setien, Massimiliano Allegri and Xavi. Setien was signed, but Pochettino was my first choice. I wanted to convince the board of my first choice and said: ‘I want to get the best coach available on the market. I don’t care about politics or his Espanyol past. ‘ I wasn’t interested in club politics. I wanted the best and Pochettino is one of the best coaches. He reached the Champions League final with Tottenham Hotspur and you have to respect that. He has a good game and training philosophy, players love him and I think he would have been the better coach for the situation at the time. “
… about the club policy that prevented Pochettino from being signed under Bartomeu: “I knew the board had a political problem with him. After explaining why he would be the best coach for Barça, I only received questions about his past at Espanyol and no substantive questions. I mean that he gave an interview many years ago and said that he would rather return to Argentina than coach FC Barcelona. For many people in the club that was a problem and they didn’t want him because he doesn’t respect the club. “
… about the argument with Lionel Messi in February 2020 after Abidal testified that the players had to work harder: “I think I was right. In my opinion, they had to train more intensely. During my active time under Guardiola, the motto was: ‘You want to be the best? Then you have to train like the best. You can win anything if you perform well in training during the week. ‘ That is what I said. I didn’t blame the players for not training hard to get rid of the coach. I spoke to Messi about the matter personally. We had a controversial discussion on the subject, but I was able to accept his opinion. He was the only player I spoke to in this form about what I respect. Of course, I understand that Leo is the captain and defends his team. But I never said Messi wanted Valverde to be sacked. Our relationship hasn’t changed. Everyone has a different opinion about the situation at the time. I didn’t want to trigger a big argument out of a small matter that would disturb the whole club. “
Eric Abidal: “If we hadn’t signed Antoine Griezmann, I think that a return action by Neymar would have been 100 percent possible“
… about Neymar’s possible return campaign in summer 2019 and why it failed: “Ten days before the end of the transfer period, I flew to Paris with managing director Óscar Grau to meet Paris Saint-Germain’s sports director Leonardo and talk about Neymar. I thought if the manager comes with me it will be a strong sign that we want to bring Neymar back. If we hadn’t signed Antoine Griezmann, I think that a Neymar return action would have been 100 percent possible. Back then we needed a winger and Neymar was amazing when he played for Barça. It wasn’t about who was the better player of the two, but the team needed a real winger. But Bartomeu signed Griezmann because Neymar was still involved in a legal dispute with FC Barcelona. The board demanded that if they wanted to come back they had to drop the process. That wasn’t my problem, I wasn’t part of the club when this argument broke out. From my perspective, I could have signed the player, but it didn’t happen. “
… about his plan to get FC Barcelona out of debt: “In March 2019 I presented a company to the association. The company was ready to invest large sums in the association and to compensate for the financial difficulties. Both parties spoke to each other until November 2020, but no agreement was found. I think it would have been possible to solve the financial problems. It would not have been easy as enormous amounts of money were required and the board kept the figures at the time under lock and key. If a company wants to invest, it has to know everything. It took a long time for the FC Barcelona board to provide the information because they wanted to keep everything secret. I understand that it is shameful to have to show other people that you have not done well. But investors can help you do better, so you have to give that information out. But at FC Barcelona everyone wants to protect themselves first. “
… about the future of FC Barcelona under the new president Joan Laporta: “I think he can do the club very well because he knows the internal processes. I am not worried about the future of the club. As soon as the fans can come back and if his project and his ideas are good, FC Barcelona will recover from these difficult times. “
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