"If we had not signed Griezmann, I am 100% convinced, Neymar would be in the club"

The departure of Eric Abidal from Barcelona's technical secretariat occurred last August, after the farewell to the Champions League and the dismissal of coach Quique Setién. Seven months after his departure, the Frenchman broke his silence and talked about various issues related to the Catalans, and surprised everyone with his statements.

To begin with, Eric Abidal confessed to The Telegraph that he considered Mauricio Pochettino as the first option, for Barcelona´s diver to wear, after the departure of Ernesto Valverde. Finally, among all the alternatives, the board chose Quique Setién. “I spoke with Pochettino, but I was not the only one at the club. I thought we had to bring in the best coach on the market. I had to do my job and not think that in his time at Espanyol. For me, this had to take a back seat. I wanted the best and he is one of the best”, commented Abidal.

On the other hand, the ex-footballer referred to the interest in bringing Neymar back. "If we had not signed Griezmann, I am 100% convinced, Neymar would be at the club" he admitted. Of course, Abidal also made it clear why the signing of the Brazilian was not insisted on. "One of the arguments for not bringing Neymar was the court case he had open against the club. They said that I had to stop that process if I wanted to go back", assured.

Finally, the former player touched on the issue of Lionel Messi, with whom he had discrepancies as a result of the Frenchman's statements to the Sport newspaper, in which he revealed that the players were not satisfied with Ernesto Valverde. “Messi spoke with me personally. We had a strong conversation. I had no problem, I like to be transparent. I liked him, he was the only footballer who told me his opinion to my face. I respect it", he concluded.