The reasons Barça appointed Abidal as sporting director
Pep Segura revealed the motives for picking the Frenchman on Tuesday
Barcelona's general manager Pep Segura took responsibility for the decision to let Robert Fernandez go and replace him with Eric Abidal.
Segura explained that Abidal had been appointed because of his knowledge of the squad, his professional profile and his wealth of expertise in the French market.
After thanking Robert for his work, Segura explained that "we have decided to start a new era and have built a new structure with which we believe we can achieve out objectives."
As for choosing Abidal, he said: "One of the reasons we chose Abidal is for the day-to-day link he will have with the first team squad.
“He will deal with any problems the players may have and he will be by the side of the coaching staff. Eric understands this side of the game brilliantly because it’s not long since he was in that dressing room himself.”
"The second reason for going for him is his knowledge of the international market. He's been preparing to be a sporting director for a while. He has done his UEFA courses and has got to know internally some of Europe’s biggest clubs. We are lucky that he’s starting his career as a professional with us.
"The third reason is his nationalilty and his expertise in the French market, which is which biggest feeder to Europe's top leagues. Add to these three reasons that we also want all our players in first team down to La Masia to have the values Eric Abidal trasmits."
