Football Club Barcelona has always been a welcoming home to French footballers and with the latest signing of Antoine Griezmann, the Catalan outfit now boasts 5 French stars in their current 22-man squad.
The likes of Samuel Umtiti, Clement Lenglet, Griezmann, Ousmane Dembele and Jean Clair-Todibo have all made their way to the Camp Nou in the last 3 years.
Let’s look at 3 other French stars who have donned the famous Blaugrana shirt back in the day.
Eric Abidal
The current Sporting Director and former Blaugrana player, Eric Abidal arrived at Camp Nou in the summer of 2007 and was part of one of the most successful teams in the club’s history.
27 years old at the time, the former Lille man arrived at a price of €15m and one can say it was worth every penny seeing he lifted 16 trophies including 2 Champions League titles.
In 2011, after Barca’s 3-1 triumph over Manchester United, club captain Carles Puyol showed an amazing gesture handing Abidal the captain’s armband who then later lifted the trophy in what the Frenchman describes as a ‘special moment’.
Abidal had made an excellent comeback to football after winning a hard-fought battle against cancer. After 6 successful years at the club, he left for Monaco in 2013 on a free transfer.
Thierry Henry
Henry was also part of the same team as Abidal which won the sextuple in Pep Guardiola’s debut year as the head coach of Barcelona, a feat which hasn’t been repeated till date.
The former Arsenal man joined Barcelona in the summer of 2007 in a deal worth €24m. He made 121 appearances for the Blaugrana club scoring 49 goals in his three seasons at the Camp Nou.
The 41-year-old also lifted 7 trophies with the Catalans including 2 league titles and a Champions League and was one of the most celebrated French stars in the club’s history.
He later departed for NY Red Bulls in the summer of 2010 on a free transfer.
Ludovic Giuly
27-year-old at the time, Giuly arrived at Barcelona from Monaco in a deal worth €8.5m.
Not as renowned as the other two, the former Lyon man played a crucial part in the club’s run to their second European glory.
In the semi-final of the 2006 Champions League tie against AC Milan, the Frenchman scored the only goal of the game, a sweet left-foot strike to send the Blaugrana club to the final in Paris.
A year later in 2007, he left the Catalan outfit for Italian side AS Roma for €4.5m.
