Atletico Madrid ‘Very Attentive’ To The Situation Of Barcelona Defender
With Jordi Alba’s future at FC Barcelona far from certain, Ferran Martinez of Mundo Deportivo is reporting that Atletico Madrid are paying very close attention to his situation as they seek to reinforce the left-back position.
Alba has a contract with Barça that expires in the summer of 2024 and the veteran has made it clear time and again that he intends to fulfil it.
However, his wages have become a major concern for the La Liga champions, who have been looking into either terminating his contract or reducing his wages.
Alba met with Barcelona president Joan Laporta earlier this week, prompting speculations that the club had asked to take a 60% pay cut.
It has been since reported that the salary reduction was not discussed in the meeting. But the Blaugrana’s intention remains to decrease his wages or offload him in case an agreement over a reduction is not reached.
As such, the Catalans would prefer if they parted ways with Alba as he would not have a prominent role to play in the squad next season while his wages are also a major burden.
Given the situation, Atletico Madrid are now showing an interest in the 34-year-old and are understood to be keeping a close watch on developments surrounding the Spanish international.
The Rojiblancos are in the market for reinforcements at left-back and Alba is a player that they have liked for a very long time.
Apart from Atletico Madrid, Alba is also on the radars of clubs in Saudi Arabia, where they are exploring the idea of signing him along with Sergio Busquets and Lionel Messi.
It must be remembered that Barcelona and Atletico Madrid are likely to be in negotiations for the signing of Yannick Carrasco this summer.
The Blaugrana have the option of signing him for €15 million, but do not wish to offer more than €10 million. It will be interesting to see whether Alba might enter the equation in the operation for the Belgian international.
