With rumours of Lionel Messi possibly returning to Barcelona in the summer starting to gain momentum of late, veteran defender Jordi Alba has become the latest Blaugrana player to comment on the matter.
Already, the likes of Sergi Roberto, Marc-Andre ter Stegen, Ronald Araujo and manager Xavi Hernandez have all made it clear that they would love it if the 35-year-old Argentine returned to his old stomping grounds in the summer.
Now, Alba has echoed those sentiments claiming that it would be good both for the club and Messi if he left PSG and came back to Barcelona.
During an interview with Risto Mejide on the programme ‘Viajando con Chester’ (h/t SPORT), Alba opened up on the matter, saying: “I would like Messi to come back, it would be good for the club and for him.”
Talking about the seven-time Ballon d’Or winner’s shock exit from Barcelona in the summer of 2021, Alba added:
“With my wife, we remember seeing the news of Messi leaving. I couldn’t believe it. We won a lot of titles because of him. I called him and asked about it, but he didn’t go too in depth. Only him and the club know what happened, but I know he was very sad.”
Having recently turned 34 years old, Alba is aware that he does not have many years left at the highest level of the game. The left-back’s game-time has taken a hit this term with Xavi preferring Alejandro Balde as his first choice.
But, the veteran remains keen on seeing out his contract at the club despite reports that he could be sold in the summer.
“I feel good, but I know that I don’t have much time left. At Barça, I have the rest of this season and the next. After that, we’ll see,” he said.
Barcelona have recently caught in the middle of the Enriquez Negreira corruption case, with allegations of paying off referees leveled against the Catalans. However, Alba disputed those claims, stating that if anything match officials have cost the team matches and titles in the past.
“I never noticed referees whistling in our favor. In fact, they took the league title away from us unfairly in 2014, after a legal goal by Messi,” he said.
