Abidal to clarify his future on Thursday

Barcelona defender Eric Abidal will announce at a press conference at 13h00 (11h00GMT) on Thursday whether he is to stay at the club, either in a playing or ambassadorial role, or leave the Spanish champions come the end of the season.Abidal, who made a remarkable recovery from a liver transplant to return to first-team action last month, is out of contract at the end of the season.And according to Barcelona sports daily El Mundo Deportivo, Abidal has not been offered a new playing contract, but instead a role within the sporting structure of the club which he is free to take up immediately or whenever he has finished his playing career somewhere else.After his return to first-team action Abidal had signalled his intent to continue playing for another couple of years should he continue to be in good health."The objective I had wanted was to end my career playing and if I feel fine and can continue for a year or two I will do," he said after his first appearance for 14 months against Mallorca on April 6.The Frenchman has made four appearances in total this season, but hasn't been involved since a 2-2 draw against Athletic Bilbao on April 27.

Source: AFP