Abidal pens new deal

Eric Abidal Madrid - Arabstoday   French international defender Eric Abidal has signed a new deal with Barcelona, the Catalan club said on Monday after some protracted negotiations. European champions Barça said they had reached agreement with 32-year-old Abidal for an extra year, meaning his new deal runs through to June 2013. "The agreement includes an option to extend it through to 2015," the club added on their website. Abidal's original deal at the Nou Camp was until 2012 and he was initially offered a one-year extension, but based on appearances whereas the player had asked for two years without any appearance strings attached. Abidal - capped 60 times for France - has made 177 appearances in four years at the club, winning the UEFA Champions League twice and the Spanish title three times among other trophies, and won much admiration for overcoming surgery to remove a liver tumour last spring.