Jordi Alba never intended to leave Barcelona early, but that scenario has become reality. In any case, the left back is not the cause of that, he says.
Alba: “I was never Barcelona’s problem”
It is clear that Barcelona had financial problems and demanded a salary sacrifice from the players. In Spanish media, he, Gerard Piqué and Sergio Busquets were identified as a problem, because they would jointly cost the club 200 million euros. While the club still has to cut costs for 300 million euros after the departure of Busquets and Piqué. “This is what I wanted,” Alba himself tells The Guardian. “When I said I wanted to stay, that was my feeling at the time, but after weighing everything up, it was better to leave. If I had maybe played a little more, I might have made a different choice. I’ve played for this club for eighteen years, that’s half my life. The president and the club gave me the choice, I deserved that right.”
“The problem is not the club, but everything around it”
“The problem is not the club, but everything around it. I made mistakes, said things I shouldn’t have said and you get criticized for that. That’s normal, because not everyone can like you,” continues Alba. “There has been so much lying and sometimes you get the feeling that people are adding things that have nothing to do with it. The president has said I left the right way and he is grateful. We know the financial situation, but it’s not about one player. I always said I wasn’t the problem. I did the right things and always helped the club. And the club did that for me too. The people and the club know what I’m like: if I say something, it’s true. I have no influence on what people say and I can’t keep shouting: that’s not right. (… ) Barcelona knows the sacrifices I made and offered me the option to stay for another year. It felt better to me to step aside.”
What now for Alba? He is a free agent. His name falls at Inter Miami. He explains, “In England there is a real atmosphere. I talk a lot to teammates in the Spanish national team who have played there, they all say England is special. I always said: who knows, but my focus was on Barcelona, so there was no reason to think about any other competition. Now I have to see which teams want me. I am open to everything: Europe, but also beyond. I want to weigh everything carefully.”
