Jordi Alba leaves FC Barcelona. At 34, the left-back has decided to put an end to eleven seasons at the club of his life, following in the footsteps of Sergio Busquets and Gerard Piqué. In this way, FC Barcelona says goodbye to the course without three of the four captains who marked an era in the Barcelona team.
Alba's decision, who is leaving the club after eleven seasons in which he has won 18 titles, played 458 games and scored 27 goals and 94 assists, is based on two main reasons. In the first place he knew that he was not going to be the protagonist. Last year the coach Xavi Hernández already told him that he found the perfect replacement in Alejandro Balde. Barcelona, which received interest from Inter Milan, tried to give him up but Alba insisted on staying. "I would like to say more but I am not going to do it. I like that they go to my face," said the full-back at a commercial act for Adidas.
The second is economic. Two weeks ago his agents met with the director of football, Mateu Alemany and also with Jordi Cruyff. In the conversation, the agents stated Alba's intentions to fulfill her contract until June 2024. They were summoned to continue talking since the board wanted to propose a salary reduction.
Last week the Sushi 99 restaurant in the upper area of Barcelona was the place chosen by President Joan Laporta to eat with Jordi Alba and his right-hand man, Alejandro Echevarría. The meeting, according to sources around the footballer, had been pending for a few weeks. After reflecting, Alba finally decided that the best thing for his career and also to help the club financially was to close his stage as a Barcelona fan. This was communicated to the coach Xavi Hernández who welcomes his decision. Later he spoke with the club.
This Sunday Alba will say goodbye to the fans at the Camp Nou along with Sergio Busquets. With the goodbye of both footballers and that of Gerard Piqué, who left in January, a stage in the Barcelona team closes. Only Sergi Roberto and Ter Stegen remain in the Barça that dominated Europe and of which Xavi Hernández was also a part. And only Ter Stegen will remain in the Barça squad as the only survivor of the 14 players who participated in the last Champions League final won by Barça, in June 2015 against Juventus since Sergi Roberto was called up but did not play.
Born in Hospitalet de Llobregat on March 21, 1989, the full-back had already been in Barça's lower categories for more than seven years. He returned in 2012, coming from Valencia CF after becoming one of the undisputed starters in the Valencian team in which he played 106 games. Barcelona paid 14 million euros.
Jordi Alba was presented as a new Barca player on July 5, 2012, thus becoming the first signing of the Tito Vilanova era. He made his official debut on August 19, 2012 in the 2012-13 League match against Real Sociedad, which ended with a clear win for Culé (5-1). Catalan was one of the fundamental pillars in the League of 100 points. From this first course, the 18th became the undisputed starter. In 11 seasons as a Barça player, he has won a Champions League, a European Super Cup, a Club World Cup, 6 Leagues, 5 Copas del Rey and 4 Spanish Super Cups.
At the national level, Jordi Alba is one of those chosen to play the Euro Cup in Poland and Ukraine, occupying the left side. The man from Hospitalet won that Euro Cup and was a finalist in the 2013 Confederations Cup. He also has international experience in three World Cups, Brazil 2014, Russia 2018 and Qatar 2022 and, in all three, he is an important player for the Spanish selection.
