Barcelona transfer news: Eric Abidal makes bold claim about Andres Iniesta replacement

That is the verdict of Eric Abidal, who returned to Barcelona earlier this week after he was appointed as the club’s new technical secretary earlier this week.

Iniesta left Barca with a big hole to fill after calling time on his Nou Camp career at the end of last season.

Manchester City’s Ilkay Gundogan is among those who could be signed to take over from the legendary Spaniard.

But Abidal insists a player of Iniesta’s calibre can never be replaced.

“We will make the decisions according to the needs of the team," Abidal said.

"But we cannot replace Iniesta with a player of the same quality, that's impossible.

"We want Dembele to have a brilliant World Cup, after that he can rest and then return here.

"We are looking forward to bringing the best out of him."

Meanwhile, with Antoine Griezmann committing his future to Atletico Madrid, Abidal admitted he hasn’t spoken to Ernesto Valverde about trying to find an alternative.

He added: “Griezmann's decision is his and I do not want to enter this debate.

“The most important thing is the planning of next season and the future of the team.

"We will have to talk internally. I talked to Valverde but we did not talk about players because he was on vacation."