As a club that depend on elections, Barcelona have always had a political dimension that alters the control of information from privately owned clubs. It is something that often drags players into the fray, but they are starting to hit back at the news coming out about them.
At the weekend, Frenkie de Jong accused Barcelona not only of trying to force him out of the club, but also of leaking his contract to the media. Something Enric Masip has since denied.
Now, speaking to Cadena Cope, Jordi Alba has accused the club of leaking out news about him too, after he endured a summer of rumours and accusations about refusing to lower his salary.
“Nobody from the club told me anything. I have it very clear that news leaked out. I’ve been at the club for a long time and I know the environment.”
Mundo Deportivo carried the comments, as Alba defended himself.
“Whenever they asked me for help from the club, I gave it. Nobody can say otherwise. Whenever the club has asked me for anything, and whatever it was, I have helped. I am from Barcelona and I feel the colours, I helped that when they asked me. If I were in another team, I wouldn’t have done it.”
“My relationship with Laporta is good,” he did add.
It is thought that Alba is one of several players that were given significantly above market salaries by the previous President Josep Maria Bartomeu in order to shift more of their earnings down the line.
With the club footing the bill for those deals now, the current board appear to be doing their best to force an exit or a reduced deal for these players, so that they can continue rebuilding the squad within the La Liga salary limits. Gerard Pique’s retirement may well have been partly down to the pressure applied by the club.
