Eric Abidal Opens Up On His Battle With Cancer

 In a recent interview with Daily Mail a talented footballer have spoken about his wife Hayet, their three little girls, Meliana, Canélia and Leyna, and their common tragedy when their ‘papa’ and husband was seriously ill.

“My eldest is 11, then I have a nine-year-old and a five-year-old. The eldest knew it was serious but we didn’t mention that word ‘cancer’ or go into detail. They are so young, you don’t want to scare them or upset them. We just told the kids, “Daddy is going to be poorly and he has to stay in hospital for a while”.
Eric Abidal Opens Up On His Battle With Cancer


Eric Abidal and his daughters

Abidal’s sad but inspiring story began in March 2011. He was 31 and in his fourth season as a powerful defender for Barcelona FC when he went to hospital for routine medical tests.

“I felt in good health. My fitness scores were high. I’d always looked after my body. When they told me I had a tumour in my liver, I got a huge shock.

“But this can happen to anyone, whatever your age, whatever your job. You can have all the money in the world but nothing prepares you for cancer,” he said.

Abidal had an operation and after six weeks returned to the first-team fold. Only 71 days had passed since the operation when Abidal played his first 90 minutes in the Champions league final against Manchester United.


“That game was an obsession for me. I was determined to get myself right. Pep Guardiola was amazing, sending me messages saying: “Keep going, we are all counting on you to be there”.”

Eric Abidal Opens Up On His Battle With Cancer

“I still have a ticket from the game. What a night; in a famous stadium, your Wembley Stadium. I’d always admired English football. I like Liverpool. I had the chance to sign in 2006, when Rafa Benitez was manager. Gerard Houllier tried to persuade me to go but Barcelona came in.

“As a kid, I adored Diego Maradona and my dream was always to play where he had played.

“Carles Puyol was captain at Wembley. We were making that walk up the famous steps and as we were getting towards the trophy he turned round to me and said, “You will lift the trophy”. It was an amazing gesture.



“Pep worked for hours on end on positioning, technical skills and adapting training to a game situation. We played small-sided games in tiny, confined areas at a high intensity to make us think more quickly.The less space you have, the quicker you need to react and move the ball on. Then when you lose it, hunt in packs and retrieve it as fast as possible.

“And we had Messi. The genius of football, a phenomenon — somebody only God can produce,” the footballer said.

After the victory in the Champions League, Abidal hoped he had seen off his tumour, and wanted to play more and more. Unfortunately, the next check-up broke his dreams as it showed that cancer had returned with a vengeance and he would require a liver transplant.
Eric Abidal Opens Up On His Battle With Cancer

Eric Abidal and his Barcelona team-mate Dani Alves

“My Barcelona team-mate Dani Alves offered me his liver. He was serious but I could never have accepted it. He also has a family and a career. It is a massive operation and it was too much.”

Abidal’s cousin Gerard was a match. Although the risk for Gerard was huge, he agreed on transplantation and saved the footballer’s life.

“It was far worse this time. I did not have chemo but the transplant had its own complications. My immune system had to accept the new liver. I was in hospital for 42 days. I was in awful pain. I would return for admissions that would last between a week and 10 days.”

After the operation Abidal’s life changed dramatically: there was no more training, no more laughing and joking with his team-mates; only drawn-out, solitary days lying in a hospital bed.



“You cannot switch off. You do not forget that you have cancer. It is always there, in your mind, and physically I felt so weak.

“For seven months, I didn’t do anything. I couldn’t. I had no strength. It was draining. No sport, no training. There were dark days where I was terrified that I would never be able to play again. I would wake up and barely have the strength to move a muscle.

“I didn’t let the Barca players come to the hospital. I didn’t want people to see me like that.”

However, all Europe’s leading clubs were supporting the player at that harrowing period. Real Madrid wore T-shirts during their warm-up that read ‘Animo Abidal’, (get well, Abidal).

Once he was sitting at home when a package arrived from the Far East.

“I opened it up and thousands of butterflies flew out around my living room. It was different and beautiful. It was so humbling to think that these people cared so much. I owed it to them to come back.”

Abidal kept his promise and on April 6, 2013, he returned to a thunderous ovation at Barcelona’s Nou Camp stadium. That summer he was released by Barcelona and broke into tears at an emotional farewell press conference.
Eric Abidal Opens Up On His Battle With Cancer

Abidal broke into tears at an emotional farewell press conference.

After that he was also playing for Monaco and Olympiacos but in December 2014 made a decision to finish his football carreer.

“There will not be another comeback. For me, the important thing was that I was able to go on my terms — I made the decision, the cancer did not make it for me. Cancer has changed my life. I am a better person. I prioritise what is important: my wife, my little girls, my friends, travelling with the family. I just want to enjoy every second.”

Recently, the footballer has launched the Eric Abidal Foundation aiming to raise money and support children fighting cancer.