- Barca tried to get rid of Alba in summer
- Defender insists he never wanted exit
- Alba also hints there's more to story
WHAT HAPPENED? Alba, who has featured sparingly under Xavi so far this season, has opened up for the first time about speculation that he could have joined Inter in the summer.
WHAT THEY SAID: "I can only tell you that my thought has always been to be at Barcelona. I see myself qualified to be here, otherwise I would be the first to leave," Alba said at an event. "Then the club will look at their interests. I have always shown my commitment to the club, to the coaches... I will never get into the issues of club interests, I can't tell you more. I'd like to tell you more, but I'm not going to."
THE BIGGER PICTURE: It was reported at the time that Barca tried to engineer Alba's exit from the club on deadline day behind his back. La Blaugrana are understood to have agreed to loan the defender to San Siro for the season, but he reacted angrily and refused to leave.
AND WHAT'S MORE: Barcelona had hoped that Alba's exit would free up enough salary space for them to register new arrival Marcos Alonso. Instead, the club had to implement alternative measures to add Alonso to their squad.
STORY IN TWO PHOTOS:
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Getty ImagesWHAT NEXT FOR BARCELONA? Barca take on Cadiz on Saturday evening, though Alba is unlikely to feature after starting his side's Champions League victory over Viktoria Plzen in midweek.