Alba bluntly said: Yamal and Messi are incomparable! Barcelona legend talks about retirement and farewell to the club champion

Barcelona's legendary left-back Alba recently said something in an interview, which directly hit the hot topic among fans. When asked whether 18-year-old star Lamine Yamar can compare with Messi, he did not hesitate to give the answer: "There is no comparison at all! Messi is the ceiling of football, no one can reach his height."

As a teammate who has played alongside Messi for many years and is still partnering with the Messi champion at Inter Miami, Alba's evaluation is very weighty. Since Yamal has emerged in Barcelona in the past two seasons, the 18-year-old boy has often been compared with Messi, the eight-time Ballon d'Or winner, but Alba has seen clearly: "Lamine is indeed a great player, but Barcelona also has core players such as De Jong and Pedri. The team relies on the overall strength and cannot compare him with Messi alone."

During the interview, we also talked about the interesting story of Messi’s secret visit to Camp Nou to take photos. Alba smiled and revealed: “We old guys who have played in Barcelona for many years have keys to the stadium! But I really didn’t know beforehand that he was going to take photos.” Talking about the way Messi left Barcelona that year, he couldn’t hide his regret: “I didn’t talk to him about the specific reasons, but it was definitely not him. But he also added warmly: "If Messi is willing, I believe Barcelona will hold a grand farewell ceremony for him sooner or later, and it will definitely be a carnival for all Barcelona fans."

As for whether Camp Nou should be renamed "Messi Stadium", Alba remains neutral: "No one has asked me what I think. It's hard to say whether Messi likes it or not. I think it's hard to say." The current name is pretty good."

In addition to commenting on his juniors and teammates, Alba also confirmed his decision to retire at the end of the year: "The momentum when I was 20 will gradually fade away. The renewal was originally planned, but when it is time to retire, I will accept it calmly." He also mentioned that this is the same as the retirement choice of his old teammate Busquets, which is based on personal considerations. Looking back on his career, Alba was also very candid: "I have achieved a lot and lived a wonderful life, but my personality also made me make some mistakes, and they are all past."

Talking about Barcelona's upcoming presidential election, Alba did not want to take too many sides: "If Xavi really leaves, he must have his reasons. Laporta does not need my support, I I don’t have the energy or time to interfere with this. I just want to spend time with my family.” When asked if he would support a certain candidate, he joked: “Support? It depends on what conditions they give me (laughing)”

The 18-year-old Yamal is indeed Barcelona’s future hope, but judging from the legend who has seen Messi at his peak, he still has a long way to go.