Abidal warns Benzema off Barca

French full-back urges countryman to stay put

By Lucas Brown   Last updated: 8th February 2009   Subscribe to RSS Feed

Abidal warns Benzema off Barca

Benzema: Barca target

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Eric Abidal believes a move to Barcelona would be detrimental to Karim Benzema's blossoming career.

The Spanish giants are known to be staunch admirers of the Lyon striker and are reported to have made tentative approaches for his services in the past.

The Catalan side are therefore unlikely to be impressed to learn that one of their own players is now urging his fellow Frenchman not to join him at Camp Nou.

"Coco (Benzema) is having a great season with Lyon, but he needs to continue playing regularly to improve," Abidal told Le Parisien.

"I think that at Barcelona the competition is very tough and that could harm him."

Not content at questioning Barca's interest in one of his countrymen, Abidal is also unsure as to why the current Primera Liga leaders continue to track Bayern Munich playmaker Franck Ribery.

"If we signed Benzema where would he play? In (Samuel) Eto'o's place," added the full-back.

"It is the same thing with Ribery. Barca want him, but they already have (Thierry) Henry and he is not going to leave the club just one year before the World Cup finals."