Barcelona denies report former president bought Eric Abidal a black market liver

Spain’s National Transplant Organization (ONT) and the Clínic Hospital in Barcelona have begun an internal investigation related to a liver donated to former Barcelona soccer club player Éric Abidal after the team’s former president was caught on tape suggesting the organ was purchased illegally. Both Abidal, who underwent a transplant due to complications stemming from a tumor in his liver back in 2012, and Barcelona deny any wrongdoing.

Barcelona was brief in their statement, flatly announcing they “roundly deny any irregularity in the matter.” Abidal took to Twitter to defend himself and his club in a pair of tweets.

With the publication of this image I want to ask for respect for my cousin Gerard and defend his honorability.
I publicly denounce the attitude of some media that continue to question the legality of an intervention that saved my life enough!

The denials come days after Spanish newspaper El Confidencial released a report accusing former Barcelona club president Sandro Rosell of the “purchase of an illegal liver” for his ailing player. Reporters Jose Maria Olmo and Beatriz Parera claim Rosell discussed buying a black market organ for Abidal on four separate instances while Spanish Civil Guard and National Police agents were listening in. The conversations were released as part of an ongoing criminal case against Rosell, who is awaiting trial for money laundering and criminal organization offenses.

In the the most damning of the recordings by the Civil Guard, Rosell is talking to an acquaintance named “Juanjo” who is heard complaining about Abidal’s — who is currently the club’s director of football — standoff with the team’s board of directors.

Juanjo: He’s going against us. We bought an illegal liver for this guy.”
Rosell: Yes.
Juanjo: And we sold the story that it was from his cousin. From his cousin!
Rosell: Yes, yes, yes.

Rosell’s lawyers have denied any knowledge of wrongdoing, though they did point out it’s “a little strange to think that an illegal liver could be purchased and transplanted in a public hospital.” The Clínic Hospital in Barcelona, who recently re-opened its investigation into the matter, and the Catalan regional health department stated all of the documents required for the transplant were in place at the time of the surgery.

A Barcelona court had previously declined to investigate the matter in April. It’s unclear whether this latest investigation will result in a criminal inquest.