Barcelona: Following Lionel Messi’s departure to Paris Saint-Germain from Barcelona last week, several veteran players were targeted for not lowering their salaries so as to register new players. Among them was one of Barcelona’s captains, Jordi Alba, who was attacked mostly by fans and media reportedly for not taking a pay cut.
The Spaniard retorted to all the accusations stating what has been printed about him on the matter is completely baseless. Following a 4-2 La Liga win against Real Sociedad, the Barcelona left-back opened up about the critics who said a part of the reason for Messi leaving was because Alba did not take the pay cut sooner.
“No one called me before Euro 2020, that’s false,” Alba said. “When the club talks with me, I am willing. I’m from here, spending my whole life in Barcelona. That my commitment is questioned hurts me a lot. As the president hasn’t spoken specifically about this yet, I suppose he will speak and he’ll tell the truth.”
“My lawyers have spoken to the club. Pique’s was concluded first simply because of the timing but the willingness of all the captains was always as it had to be. The lies annoy me, they tire me. I can put up with a lot, but I suffer for my family and the things they have to hear,” said Alba.
Barcelona have been struggling financially of late, mainly due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The club is currently under huge debt and had to let go of Messi to comply with the La Liga Financial Fair Play rules and regulations despite the fact the Argentine agreed to a 50 per cent wage reduction.
Talking about Messi’s departure, Alba said, “Apart from being the best ever, Leo (Messi) was the one who understood me best, so imagine the efforts I would have made for him to stay. It’s not true (that Messi left because of a pay cut the captains rejected)… the Messi stuff was separate from the captains, between the club and him.”
