According to a fresh report from Diari ARA, Barcelona defender Jordi Alba was not pleased about the club’s trip to Australia at the end of last season and complained about the same in front of his teammates.
After finishing the 2021/22 campaign with a defeat to Villarreal in La Liga, Barça flew out to Australia for a post-season friendly fixture against the A-League All Stars. It was the club’s first-ever game on Australian sail, in which they prevailed 2-3 at the Accor Stadium.
However, given the long journey and the time difference, there were some who were not entirely pleased about the trip, including Alba.
The 33-year-old was one among the two club captains travelling, along with Sergio Busquets as both Gerard Pique and Sergi Roberto had been left behind due to injuries.
And Alba is said to have taken an issue with the trip and complained about the same in front of his teammates, which also included several young players like Alejandro Balde, Alvaro Sanz and Arnau Tenas among several others.
However, upon hearing his complaints, the club are reported to have given him a reply. As told to the aforementioned outlet by a club source: “He asked why he had to make that trip and the answer was very simple: to pay for contracts like his.”
Indeed, Alba is one of the highest-earning members of the current Barcelona squad and has a gross salary of around €30 million for the ongoing season, including previous deferrals.
The 33-year-old’s deal with the club runs until 2024 after he was handed a lucrative extension by the previous president, Josep Maria Bartomeu.
Interestingly, though, the report claims that while Barça approached both Gerard Pique and Sergio Busquets over wage reductions this past summer to achieve Financial Fair Play, there were no proposals made to Alba regarding the same, even though he was open to deferring his wages again.
Instead, Barcelona did make an attempt to offload Alba late in the summer when they had an agreement with Inter Milan to loan him out. The left-back refused the move and was left angered by the club’s actions which came as a surprise to him.
Alba currently finds himself behind Alejandro Balde and Marcos Alonso in the pecking order and has struggled for game-time this season.
