Abidal -- who was part of the French team that reached the World Cup final last year -- had been at the six-time French champions since 2004 and had been the subject of several bids by Barca all of which had been rejected.

However Barca president Joan Laporta finally secured his target after upping a 14million euros bid by another million and with other bonuses for Lyon included in the deal such as 500,000 euros should Barcelona win the Champions League.

Abidal will join compatriot and former Arsenal striker Thierry Henry, who signed for the deposed 2006 Spanish champions last week, and Barca have also netted Ivory Coast international Yaya Toure from Monaco.