Barcelona have distanced themselves from an astonishing outburst made by Dani Alves in which he criticised the Spanish press, calling them ‘f****** rubbish’.
A simmering feud has been developing between the Brazilian and certain sections of the Spanish press, culminating in him refusing to answer questions from certain newspapers in his most recent press conferences.
Barcelona are understood to have requested that he retract the remarks but he is yet to do so.
Alves took to Instagram on Friday to write: “Every day that passes I am more ashamed to form part of this sport and how they use us.
“I used to think that you could go out and defend the shirt and if you won or lost you would go home to either reflect on how badly or how well you had played. Now we are objects used by the press so that they can sell newspapers.
“Every day that passes we talk less about football, tactics, moves, pieces of skill, goals and the spectacle. What f****** rubbish they are.”
Barcelona responded on Friday afternoon with a terse statement.
The club’s response concluded: “Beyond the total freedom that any player has to express his opinions, FC Barcelona wishes to clarify that we do not accept or share the offensive expressions that have been published.”
The 32-year-old signed a two-year contract extension last summer, ending prolonged speculation he was about to join Manchester United.
