Fabrizio Romano has revealed that Barcelona and Spain star Jordi Alba is keen to extend his contract at Camp Nou.
The 33-year-old defender has made 441 appearances for the club since arriving from Valencia 10 years ago, but has started just 50% of Barcelona’s La Liga matches this season, with the breakthrough of teenager Alejandro Balde and the arrival of Marcos Alonso limiting his game time.
However, speaking on the Here We Go podcast, Romano stated his belief that Alba will remain at the club.
He said: “I’m told that Jordi Alba wants to stay at Barcelona, I’m told that his plan is to stay, to continue there, so Barca have to manage the situation with the salaries.
“Jordi Alba wants to stay until 2024, so the plan is clear he wants to continue.”
TIF Thoughts on Jordi Alba…
With Balde performing so well, Alba has fallen down the pecking order, but we think keeping him would be a smart move from Xavi.
He has shown that he still has world-class quality having been called up to the Spain World Cup squad alongside Balde, and there are not many better players for the youngster to learn from as he develops.
As one of the club’s most experienced players, Alba can provide leadership in the dressing room, and as he ranks in the top 10% of European full-backs for passes, assists, shot-creating actions and progressive passes (as per FBref), he still remains one of the best attacking left-backs around.