Greek champions Olympiakos confirmed Saturday they have signed veteran French defender Eric Abidal on a two-year contract for an undisclosed fee.

Just last week Monaco had announced that their 34-year-old captain, who underwent a liver transplant in 2012 while playing for Barcelona, would extend his contract with the French Ligue 1 runners-up for another season.

But instead he will join up with the Olympiakos squad on Monday for pre-season training in Austria.

Abidal made 26 appearances in Ligue 1 last season but lost his place to Aymen Abdennour in the second half of the championship and was not called up by France coach Didier Deschamps for the World Cup.

Abidal, who played for Barcelona for six years from 2007, was first diagnosed with a liver tumour in March 2011 and a year later underwent a transplant.

The former Lille and Lyon player says he has fully recovered and he successfully completed medical checks with Olympiakos on Saturday.

He joined Monaco in July last year after Barcelona opted not to renew his contract and won the last of his 67 caps for Les Bleus in February 2012 before undergoing the liver transplant that sidelined him for just under 12 months.