Mystery deepens after French women’s football star battered with iron bar
Former FC Barcelona left back and sporting director Eric Abidal is reportedly a person of interest in the case of PSG women's midfielder Kheira Hamraoui being attacked by masked men earlier this month.
Hamraoui was pulled out of a vehicle on November 4 before being attacked by masked criminals who targeted her legs with an iron bar.
PSG teammate Aminata Diallo, who was driving the car, was arrested last Thursday on initial suspicion of involvement in the incident which occurred following a team meal.
However, the 26-year-old was released without charges and denied a positional rivalry over playing minutes.
According to reports, attention has now turned towards Abidal and his wife Hayet.
Relieved of his duties last year, Abidal was formerly Barca's sporting director who served under disgraced ex-president Josep Bartomeu for most of the time Hamraoui played at the club from 2018 until earlier this summer.
On Monday, Le Monde reported that Abidal will be questioned as police investigate the attack, with it having since emerged that the SIM card in Hamraoui's phone was registered in his name.
The outlet claimed that "a scenario of revenge linked to the relationship between Kheira Hamraoui and Eric Abidal is emerging," with a possible link to Abidal's partner Hayet.
Separately, speculation has circled that the attackers shouted something about liking to "sleep with married men" at Hamraoui, who required stitches in her legs and hands and has sat out PSG's last two matches.
It has been reported that a number of Hamraoui's PSG teammates have claimed she called Abidal the day after the attack with the 2006 Les Bleus World Cup finalist on speakerphone.
Diallo is now said to be helping police in the matter, and her mentioning of Hayet's name regarding alleged threats in the past has put them on alert.
Married since 2003, Abidal and his former gymnast wife have five children together.
In 2007, he joined Barcelona and became an integral part of Pep Guardiola's tiki-taka dynasty while lifting the La Liga trophy four times and the Champions League twice prior to his 2013 exit to first club Monaco.
After hanging his boots up, Abidal took the sporting director role at the Camp Nou in 2018 but was fired in August last year amid a row with Lionel Messi triggered by his criticizing of the players in an interview with Catalan daily newspaper SPORT.
