Abidal: "I'm not worried about Maxwell's arrival"

Barcelona player Eric Abidal gave an interview to Spanish sports paper El Mundo Deportivo.





What have you done during your vacation?
I have travelled a lot with my family. I've been in Miami, New York, Italy, Tunisia, Mallorca, France and Barcelona.

Are you worried about having to compete with Maxwell?
I am not concerned about Maxwell's arrival. He will make the team better and that is fine by me. The more competition there is, the higher the level will become within the team.

Any thougths on Maxwell?
Vieira has told me about him. He is another type of player, he is technical and a quality player that often joins the attack.

This is your third season in the club. What do you like best about Barcelona?
Everything. The club is perfect, the food, and people who are very nice to me, not just at the club but everywhere I go.

What food do you like?
That must be 'pa with tomaquet' (literally: bread with tomato), with potatoes and pasta at Negro. I've never tasted anything like it. It's splendid.

Since we talk about food, have you thougth about expanding your restaurant business to Barcelona?
Not to Barcelona yet, but to Paris. At the moment me and my partner are looking for a place in Paris. We want another 'Cafe dels Negociants' as the one in Lyon, in Paris.

An old friend and colleague of yours in Lyon, Benzema, will now be your rival in Real Madrid. You know him well, will you ask Guardiola to mark him?
No, I won't ask anything. He tells me where to play, either as a full-back or central defender, but we're having many good players in the centre, so it might be better they mark him.

Another friend of yours is Ribery. Do you think it's more likely to see him at Real Madrid than at Barca?
I think that he likes both teams because the football style suits him and he would have friends in either club. It's not so much that he prefers to go to Madrid, but his wife prefers Madrid over Barcelona. I have sent pictures to him via my mobile phone of all the pretty houses here, but it is difficult to convince him. Besides, he has the same agent who used to represent Zinedine Zidane. 'Zizou' is now at Madrid and as he's a reference for all the French players that can also play a role. But it seems like Bayern won't sell.

Have you tried to convince him to join Barcelona?
I told him that it would be better if he signed for Barca, a club that is perfect for him because we will come back and win another treble, and he can play alongside Leo Messi, the next Ballon d'Or winner. That's my dream, and I'm convinced we will win at least two or three titles. Besides, Anelka also already warned him that Real is not an easy club to play for.

translated by: Sandvik


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