Jordi Alba was asked to pick the toughest player he played against at Barcelona, but his Real Madrid answer was not Cristiano Ronaldo. Jordi Alba retired last year, but his career is closely tied to Barcelona. During his time there, El Clásico against Real Madrid featured plenty of talent, and he named the opponent who made life hardest for him, but it was not Cristiano Ronaldo. Alba said when asked who made things most difficult for him: “Ángel Di María. He was very good. I liked him because he didn’t just attack, he defended a lot as well. He followed me all over the field and worked incredibly hard.” The left back made those comments on Mario Suárez’s podcast, and Suárez also had major battles in those years as Atlético Madrid often went toe to toe with the two giants, even knocking them out of the Champions League and playing a key role in midfield. Alba on the rivalry with Real Madrid Alba returned to Barcelona as the club was rebuilding after Pep Guardiola left. His strong performances at Valencia convinced the club where he had developed to bring him back, and it proved to be a great move for both sides. Alba picked Di María as the hardest to defend (David Ramos/Getty Images) His time at Barcelona was marked by the rivalry with Real Madrid in matches packed with quality in every position, games that often helped decide the La Liga title, as the former defender explained. Alba said: “El Clásico matches are special. It’s your biggest rival, and you grow up experiencing them from a young age. Many times, those matches were the ones that decided the championship.” Alba on Barcelona’s mindset During the 12 years Alba spent with the first team, the club was almost always chasing records. At a team used to winning nearly every match, a draw was rarely welcome. That was very different from his earlier experience, where only three points felt acceptable. Alba said: “I remember that first year when we were on our way to winning the 100-point league title, and we were 10 or 12 points ahead of Real Madrid. We drew at Mestalla, and the next day when we got back to the locker room, I walked in as usual and everyone was quiet. I asked one of the veterans, ‘What’s going on?’ and they told me, ‘We drew.’“