VIDEO: This is how Jordi Alba said goodbye to his years at Barça

So, Jordi Alba has two more games left to close his time as a Blaugrana player: against Mallorca and Celta de Vigo. The match against the Balearic team will be the last to play at the Spotify Camp Nou and, in this way, the club is already preparing a tribute to send him off in front of all the cool fansR following in the footsteps of Sergio Busquets.

At the expense of the minutes he can play in these two games, Jordi Alba will leave Barça after 458 games – which could be 460 -, in addition to 27 goals, 99 assists and 18 titles. In this way, the full-back will remain in the ninth position of players with the most games played in the history of Barça, only behind Messi, Xavi, Busquets, Iniesta, Piqué, Puyol, Migueli and Valdés. All of them contemporaneous, with the exception of ‘Tarzan’.

a blaugrana life

After training during more than seven years in the lower categories of Barça, the club decided not to count on him anymore in 2006, in the transition to Cadet. That was a hard blow for Jordi, but he did not collapse and set course for Cornellà, who would take him to Juvenil del Valencia, after being transferred to Nàstic de Tarragona.

As a whole it took time to consolidate, but in 2012 he took over the left lane and his brilliant performances caught the attention of Barça the year of Eurocopa. Éric Abidal’s illness forced the Blaugrana to reinforce the left side of the team and the return of Jordi Alba convinced the sports management. His signing, curiously enough, was consummated a day after the semi-finals that qualified Spain for the final against Italy, where the de l’Hospitalet scored the second of the four goals for the ‘Red’, already as a Blaugrana.

quickly, he got an indisputable starting position wearing Blaugrana. He was part of one of the best teams in Barça’s history, being a key piece in, for example, the second treble in the club’s history. He formed one of the best dance partners with Leo Messi, with whom he jointly participated in 34 goals.

Knowing how to say goodbye

The performance of the side had been noticeably reduced in recent seasons, especially in the Champions League matches. Time marches on relentlessly for all mortals, including footballers and Jordi Alba has not been an exception.

The footballer had managed to maintain his hegemony on the left side before the arrival of supposed replacements who never managed to overshadow him: Mathieu, Digne, Cucurella, Miranda or Junior Firpo. He didn’t run or defend like before, but Jordi was still the best to occupy this position.

This season, however, the irruption of Alejandro Balde has been a real explosion. A full retirement. At 18 years old, the youth player sat out Jordi Alba, making him experience his most complicated season since he arrived at the Camp Nou. The de l’Hospitalet was forced to step aside and exercise a role of mentoring and leadership away from the playing field.

End of a cycle

His exit is framed along with that of Sergio Busquets and without forgetting that of Gerard Piqué, who hung up his boots last November. With the farewell of these three footballers, the survivors of the best Barça in history come to an end. Only Sergi Roberto resists, who renewed until 2024, and whose prominence did not reach him until 2015the following season to achieve the treble.

He had Valdés, Puyol, Xavi, Pedro, Iniesta, Messi – at the cost of resolving his future with a return to Barcelona on the table – and also Piqué, Busquets and Jordi Alba. It is time for new leadership, to continue with the transition of powers and bet on emerging talents. Barça’s most golden stage is coming to an end with these highly publicized departures, but the future that is being built from the Catalan capital continues to be exciting.