Barcelona left-back, Jordi Alba, has debunked claims that he was responsible for Lionel Messi's exit from Camp Nou as he refused to agree to a pay cut.
With Barcelona in more than £1.1 billion debt, the Catalan club was unable to register a two-year contract that Messi agreed because it did not meet LaLiga's financial regulations.
Reports had emerged that Barcelona had asked some of its senior players for salary reductions so that they could keep the Argentine captain, and that Alba rejected the request.
However, the Spain defender has now dismissed any talk of that being true, insisting that he feels he has been maligned by sections of the media and Messi, who eventually joined Paris Saint-Germain, understood him best.
"Apart from being the best ever, Leo [Lionel Messi] was the one who understood me best, so imagine the efforts I would have made for him to stay [at Barcelona]," Alba was quoted by Goal as saying.
"It's not true [that Messi left because of a pay cut the captains rejected]. The Messi stuff was separate from the captains, between the club and him.
"I can't control everything that is said, but I have been around. Nothing will surprise me. If 10 out of 10 news articles about Jordi Alba are negative, it is normal that people think badly. I can't stand being doubted.
"When the club talks with me, I am willing. I am from here, spending my whole life in Barcelona. That my commitment is questioned hurts me a lot. As the president hasn't spoken specifically about this yet, I suppose he will speak and he will tell the truth."
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