Alba: Barca players don't care about Neymar controversy

Jordi Alba insists Barcelona's players have been unaffected by the ongoing controversy surrounding Neymar's move to Camp Nou, insisting that they only care about what's happening on the field.

Neymar's transfer from Santos remains under investigation, with the Blaugrana accused of financial irregularities in relation to a deal that was initially claimed to have been completed at €57.1 million but subsequently revealed to have cost €86.2m.

Former Barca president Sandro Rosell resigned in order to focus on fighting allegations of wrongdoing on his part, while his successor, Josep Bartomeu, has now been accused of fraud.

The latter has since intimated that Liga rivals Real Madrid are behind the whole affair, a claim that has created even more controversy around Camp Nou, but Jordi Alba says he and his team-mates are solely concentrated on what's happening on the field.

"We just keep far away from it," the full-back told reporters at a press conference on Friday. "The players only take notice of what happens on the pitch.
"We don't care about what happens off the pitch, so we are very calm about it all."

Meanwhile, Alba revealed that he feels back to his best this season, after struggling for both form and fitness during a trying 2013-14 campaign, and is looking forward to helping Luis Enrique's men extend their eight-game winning run in all competitions by beating Athletic Bilbao this weekend.

"I wasn't well last year," the Spain international added. "I had injuries that I've never had before.

"I didn't play as many minutes as I wanted and I didn't reach the level I wanted.
"Now I have the chance to play a lot of matches, so I'm in great form.

"I feel strong, I'm recovered and we're doing well. I'm having a good time. It's the same feeling I had in 2012.

"However, Athletic a young team that likes to play football. They're very dangerous in the air in attack, so we have to watch out.

"They'll be tough. Remember that the last few matches between us have been evenly matched.
"But we'll take the same approach as always: keep the ball, play our game, dominate the wings."

Barca currently trail Liga leaders Real Madrid by four points, with Los Blancos set to face city rivals Atletico at the Vicente Calderon on Saturday afternoon.

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