The French defender left the pitch in the 90th minute of our side’s fixture against AEL Kalloni in Mytilene and the whole crowd gave him a superb standing ovation. All our side’s players rushed to embrace him in this last professional performance of his!
After the end of the match, a “farewell” party unfolded in the dressing room starring Eric Abidal. All were singing his name and embracing him, and even had their family selfie taken, courtesy of Christian Karembeu!
The same happened also during the return flight from Mytilene to Athens. The whole team gave a warm “family” farewell to the Frenchman and also kept playfully teasing him on this last professional gig.
After the final whistle, the Legend’s players talked to olympiacos.org about their own Eric, or “Abi” as everyone used to informally call him, for their time together in Greece, and also shared their wishes for the Frenchman’s future.
Michel:
“Welcome to the world I do not enjoy that much anymore (laughter). Football will never be the same; I assure you”.
Delvin N’Dinga:
“Eric, thank you. It was a great pleasure to have played next to you, both in Monaco and Olympiacos. I thank for everything you’ve done for me and I wish you the best for the future”
Ioannis Maniatis:
“Abidal is a great football player and an outstanding individual. It was very beautiful for me personally and for the whole team that we played with him in these 6 months. I think that, in whatever he chooses to don from now on with his life, he will also be successful as always. I wish him good luck”.
Alejandro Chori Dominguez:
“It was a great pleasure to have spent time with him. He is more than a football player; he is great in every sense and it is very important for me to have been able to spend time with him and learn from him. He is always available, always keen to work, to train and to improve himself, and it has been a joy working with him. From the bottom of my heart, I wish him the best whatever this may mean”.
Omar Elabdealloui :
“I wish the best to Abidal. He is a fantastic person with a huge heart. He was amazing on the pitch. I am grateful and I wish the best for his future”.
Roberto:
“I played only for a short time next to this player, who asked for everything on the pitch. I wish him all the best for the future”.
Praxitelis Vouros:
“A really great player and human being. He set an example for us on how to live. He is a fighter of life and we must follow his paradigm”.
Kostas Mitroglou
“It was a great honor to have played together with such a player, to have trained with him. I also wish him the best”.
Matthieu Dosevi:
“Eric, I thank you for the lessons you delivered me in the timespan we played together. I never expected to have been able to meet such a great individual and athlete, and to have worked with him in such a big club. Thank you for everything; I wish you the best and may you always be healthy”.
Jorge Benitez:
“I am glad I spent these last 4 months with “Abi”. The truth is I learnt a lot from him and I wish him the best, I know that no one wants his career to end, because we love what we do. I know he has been through a lot and that now it’s time to watch and support us. I wish him the best. I know that he will always be with us, he is an exquisite individual; beside, there was a reason why he achieved so many things. One can see the kind of person he is”.
Balazs Megyeri:
“I wish you the best with your life from now on. It was a great honor to have played by your side”.
Kostas Giannoulis:
“First and foremost, I wish health for him and his family. Good luck in whatever he will embark upon. It was an honor and, at the same time, a dream to have been his teammate even for 6months”.
Andreas Bouchalakis:
“I feel glad and really proud that I have been a teammate with such a great athlete and, above all, person. I thank him for all the lessons he has given us in these 6 months”.
Pajtim Kasami:
“Firstly, I would like to congratulate him on his career. I am sad he is leaving us and happy, at the same time, for meeting him, because he has taught me many things. I am thrilled he was with us. I would like to wish him the best in this new chapter of his life. Eric, we will miss you a lot. We love you!”.
Eric Abidal has retired from professional football, however, as stressed last Friday by Olympiacos FC’s President Mr. Vaggelis Marinakis, they will both move on together and there will be more to come in the club’s collaboration with him!
