*Undated
Eric Abidal has taken to Instagram to issue a passionate apology to wife Hayet Abidal after she filed for a divorce following an alleged affair between Eric and Paris Saint-Germain women's player, Kheira Hamraoui.
The former Barcelona sporting director is alleged to have had a relationship with Hamraoui, with wife Hayet revealing that Eric had admitted that he had been in an affair. Eric and Hayet have been married together since 2005 and have five children between them.
The ex-France international's legal representatives originally refused to comment when news that Hayet had begun divorce proceedings was first revealed, but he has now broken his silence with a message to his wife, pleading for forgiveness.
In the post on his Instagram account, Eric addressed his wife by saying: "@Hayetabidal forgive me. Whatever your decision, you will remain in my eyes the woman of my life, and especially the mother of our wonderful children." He then went on to add: "I deserve this humiliation even though it kills me alive. Thank God, God willing one day you will forgive me. #loveyoutothemoonandback."
It was on November 4th that Hamraoui was attacked while going for dinner with teammates Aminata Diallo and Sakina Karchaoui. Diallo was driving both players and dropped Karchaoui off at her home at around 10:30pm, before the attackers struck en route to Hamraoui's home in Chatou, which was just minutes away.
Hamraoui recalled the night of the attack. "My attacker hit me with an iron bar several times," she said.
Police then made Abidal a person of interest in the case due to Hamraoui's phone being registered under his name. Hamraoui was already playing for Barcelona when Abidal was appointed as the club's sporting director in 2018. Both are now due to be questioned as part of the judicial proceedings being carried out in the investigation by the authorities in Versailles. Hayet is also expected to be questioned but there is no suggestion of her playing any role in the attack, while her lawyers have denied she had any involvement.
Abidal enjoyed a successful playing career which totalled 513 appearances between 2001 and 2015 with Monaco, Lille, Lyon, Barcelona and the French national side.
He won a total of 20 trophies across his career with his six-season stint at the Camp Nou the most memorable – winning four La Liga titles with the Catalan giants alongside the Champions League trophies in 2009 and 2011.