Abidal unsure about Barca future

Madrid, April 19 (IANS) FC Barcelona defender Eric Abidal explained that he is still unsure about his future at the football club.

The French international returned to action in Barcelona's 5-0 home win over Mallorca a fortnight ago and 402 days after undergoing a liver transplant as he had been diagnosed with a liver tumour in 2011, reports Xinhua.

He did not play in Barcelona's Champions League game against Paris Saint Germain (PSG) but made his second appearance of the campaign Sunday when he played as a late substitute in his side's 3-0 win to Real Zaragoza.

His return to action has been greeted with relief and happiness by the Barcelona fans, who have great affection for the defender but speaking on local radio station RAC1, Abidal admitted Thursday that he is still not certain what the future holds for him as a player given that his current contract with Barcelona expires at the end of June.

"If my health allows it, I would like to carry on playing and I want to carry on playing for Barcelona so what do I do if they do not call me," he said, admitting that the club has not called him to open negotiations over a new deal.

There are rumours that Barcelona want him to continue at the club but in an ambassadorial role, although the defender admitted that nobody had commented that to him directly.

"I know the president (Sandro Rosell) has plans for me but only I can decide my future," he said, before admitting he was not able to say for certain whether he would be able to carry on playing.

"Time and god will say that, I can't and if I have to be an ambassador, then I will be happy to do so. I would like to retire as a Barcelona player but that depends on them and not on me," he said, although he admitted the club had behaved "very well" with him throughout his illness.