Ex-Barça Star Eric Abidal Reveals Lionel Messi Told Him to Stop Sending Cancer Recovery Updates

Eric Abidal has seemingly hit out at former Barcelona teammate Lionel Messi for telling him to stop sending the club's senior stars videos of his recovery from liver cancer.

The ex-France international told Canal+ (via Marca) that the Argentina superstar had urged him to stop sending them updates of his rehabilitation because it was making the players sad.

Abidal was diagnosed with liver cancer back in 2011 during his days as a Barcelona player and, in a bid to continue supporting his club mates through his treatment, he sent them photographs and videos to try and inspire them to victory.

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The former full-back, though, explained how Messi had called on to stop doing so as it was bumming them out - a decision that still rankles with Abidal seven years on.

He said: "I was very thin and before a game, I made a video to send to the players to cheer them up and send support.

"Do you know what Messi told me? Don't send us things like that anymore because it hurts us. I didn't see it like that, I was trying to encourage them but they told me they saw me like a corpse and it left them upset."

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Abidal did, however, reveal that former club and international colleague Thierry Henry visited him in hospital during his cancer treatment - something that the ex-defender revealed made him extremely emotional.

He continued: "When Thierry [Henry] came to see me in hospital, I cried like a child. I didn't want him to see me like that but I did like that he came to see me."

Abidal was diagnosed with the disease in March 2011, and underwent two operations to remove the tumour from his liver.

He spent two years out of the game before making his long awaited comeback as a substitute in the 5-0 home win over Mallorca in April 2013 - a return that drew widespread praise and an outpouring of good will from the global footballing community.