Jordi Alba talks Xavi, Messi, Busquets, Enrique, Tito at Barcelona farewell | OneFootball

Icon: Barca Universal

Barca Universal

·1 June 2023

Jordi Alba talks Xavi, Messi, Busquets, Enrique, Tito at Barcelona farewell

Article image:Jordi Alba talks Xavi, Messi, Busquets, Enrique, Tito at Barcelona farewell

The 2022/23 football season is concluding, which means we are bout to enter a period of major turbulence. The summer transfer window, of course.

However, before that, there are a few – rather emotional – moments to be taken care of. These events, at Barcelona, especially, started with Sergio Busquets’ exit. The legendary midfielder is leaving the club after 15 years with the senior team, and even longer as part of the institution.


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Following his emotional ceremony, Barça also hosted Alba’s farewell, who got rather emotional while addressing the fans, his teammates – current and former, and the club itself.

“Hello everyone. It’s a special day for me, thanks for being here. You gave me the most beautiful moments of my career. Thanks to the socios, fans, and everyone,” he started.

He namedropped Tito Vilanova before everyone, the man who re-signed him for Barcelona in 2012. “I want to pay tribute to Tito Vilanova today.”

“I remember very fondly my beginnings, at La Masía. I will always remember with pride being chosen to lay the first stone at the Ciutat Esportiva,” Alba added.

Alba also paid respects to his grandfather, tearily saying, “I want to thank my grandfather. I miss him very much. I’ll never get over the fact that he didn’t see me make it to the Barça first team… I did it, grandfather.”

It was not all sentimental at the ceremony, though, as Alba also made a little joke here and there, starting with Lewandowski. “All the players run a lot, except Lewandowski…”

Alba and Luis Enrique reportedly did not have a great relationship, starting from their time at Barcelona. However, Lucho did call him up for the 2022 World Cup squad, and Alba was sure to think him at the time.

“I want to thank Luis Enrique for trusting me for the World Cup, even though I wasn’t playing many minutes.”

One of the reporters threw it back to Alba’s rather controversial incident with Jules Kounde from last season, when the Sevilla defender threw the ball at the former’s face, resulting in a red card.

“My incident with Koundé before his arrival at the club? I have forgiven him [laughs].”

Alba was made sure to talk about none other than Lionel Messi, who he had a tremendous relationship with, through 2017 to 2021.

“My connection with Messi? I was always looking to pass the ball to him because I knew he was going to score goals. I didn’t care if he had a lot of defenders around him. I knew he was going to score.”

“Busquets is a bigger legend than me. He won more titles than me. I only beat him in goals scored,” Alba also said about Busi, who is leaving the club at the same time.

The event ended when Alba talked about Xavi, who has gone from being his teammate for three years, to his coach for more than a season at this point.

“With Xavi, as a coach, I think I’ll miss him too. And I’ve never been angry with him for my role, he’s always treated me great.”

Source: BarçaTV+

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