Barcelona youngster hits out at club ahead of free-transfer exit – ‘I did not feel valued’ | OneFootball

Hugo Alba, 19-year-old striker and captain of Barcelona’s Juvenil A team, is set to leave the club with his contract expiring on June 30.

Despite receiving a late renewal offer from the club to become a part of Barça Atletic in the Segunda RFEF, Alba has made his decision to leave.

In fact, the teenage striker has already travelled to Belgrade to undergo a medical and sign a three-year deal with Serbian outfit OFK Belgrade, where he will remain until 2028.

The move is part of a broader project, with the player set to complete pre-season with Red Star Belgrade, as both clubs share ownership.

Alba leaves Barcelona after six years, having joined from Elche in 2019.

Alba explains decision to leave Barcelona

Speaking to Intercomarcal TV (h/t Mundo Deportivo) before departing for Belgrade, Alba expressed his disappointment with how things ended at Barcelona.

“I didn’t feel valued as much as I thought I deserved to be. I’ll never have a bad word to say about Barça, but I would have liked to have taken part in some first-team training because I think I’ve earned the opportunity personally and it hasn’t come to me,” he said.

The 19-year-old striker also voiced his frustration over a lack of chances with Barça Atletic this past season even when the team was battling relegation and needed some firepower in attack.

“It’s difficult for me, seeing that in the reserve team there were a lot of forwards missing and that they were in the relegation places… I have no answer for that,” he noted.

“I don’t have an answer for that, it’s been a strange situation, I haven’t felt sufficiently valued. These are internal things at the club that I don’t know. I think I earned my way up.”

Hugo Alba set to leave Barcelona. (Photo courtesy: X/@hugoalbaa9)

This was a key reason behind his decision to reject the late renewal offer, he confirmed.

“Surely, when Barça offers you a renewal, I would have thought about it more. But seeing the last two seasons, how they have treated me, we made the decision with my family and my agent. If they had given me confidence in Primera RFEF….”

Reflection on the successful season

Still, Alba had words of praise for Juliano Belletti, under whom he won the league, Copa del Rey, and UEFA Youth League this season with Barcelona’s Juvenil A team.

“This season has been the best of my life, winning the Cup and the Youth League so many years later, and as captain, has been unforgettable,” said Alba.

“Belletti told me he wanted me to be his captain, I have to thank him, he is a perfect coach, in sporting and personal terms, he is the coach who has left the biggest mark on me, he knows how to manage a dressing room because of his experience as a player.”

Alba also explained how Red Star’s interest came about, with OFK acting as a stepping stone, saying:

“It comes from a game against Red Star in the UEFA Youth League, I had a very good game and my agent told me that they were watching me, it is a team that wants me, has always been there… When you see that a team trusts you, you say go ahead.

“They told me they were keeping the “9” for me. I had other offers, but it was my decision, my family’s decision, my agent’s decision, I wanted to get out of my comfort zone. It’s a new project, you have to take a step and take a risk.”