Officially.. The departure of a new star from Barcelona
Barcelona left-back Jordi Alba will leave his team at the end of the current season after 11 years in the ranks, as announced by the Catalan club today.
The Spanish champions issued a statement saying that "Barcelona and Alba have reached an agreement to free the player from his contract, which expires at the end of the 2023-2024 season."
"Barcelona expresses its gratitude to Jordi Alba, for his professionalism, for his commitment, his constant positivity and the warm treatment he has shown in everything related to the Barcelona family," the statement added.
Alba, 34, joined Barcelona from Valencia in 2012 and has won La Liga six times and the Champions League once, out of 19 titles won by the club during his time in the ranks.
His best season at Barcelona was in 2015 when he won the treble (league, cup and Champions League) under coach Luis Enrique. Alba lost his starting position this season to youngster Alejandro Balde. Alba thus joined team-mate Sergio Busquets, who also decided to leave Barcelona this summer. Alba, who won the European Cup with his country in 2012, has been linked with a move to the Saudi league, as have Busquets and Argentine star Lionel Messi, his former teammate at Barcelona.