Barcelona star Jordi Alba has responded to the shock claims that he is one of the reasons Lionel Messi left the club.

Read: What Barca Fans Did In First Match Without Messi

Messi's 21-year stay at the Catalan outfit officially came to an end after the club were unable to re-sign him due to their financial troubles and LaLiga's wage structures.

Barcelona were unable to register new players until Gerard Pique generously decided to lower his salary, while the club is also in talks with Alba and Sergio Busquets about taking a cut to help lower the wage bill.

Alba, however, hit out at reports claiming that he was partly to blame for the Argentine's surprise departure from the Camp Nou.

"Apart from being the best ever, Leo was the one who understood me best, so imagine the efforts I would have made for him to stay," the fullback said, as per Goal.

"It's not true [that Messi left because of a pay cut the captains rejected]. The Messi stuff was separate from the captains, between the club and him.

"I can't control everything that's said, but I've been around. Nothing will surprise me. If 10 out of 10 news articles about Jordi Alba are negative, it's normal that people think badly. I can't stand being doubted."

Click through the gallery below to see 10 signings that were confirmed over the past week: