Former Barcelona defender Eric Abidal has opened up on his much publicised cancer hell.

The Frenchman spoke extensively with Canal+ about his sickness battles in the early part of this decade.

In his words, Abidal said: “It is a pain I will remember for life. It was unbearable, like an open knife.”

“When the doctor told me I would need an operation I was happy. It is a suffering that I wouldn’t wish on anyone.

“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.” he stated further.

He also recounted how he broke down when club and country teammate Thierry Henry came to visit him.

The former France international said: “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.” he concluded.