Valverde: Vidal's complaint won't affect sporting matters & he won't leave

Barcelona travel to Cornella to take on Espanyol in the first Catalan derby of the season on Saturday night, yet Ernesto Valverde still had to deal with the fallout of Arturo Vidal's complaints regarding unpaid bonus payments.

The Chilean's statements dominated much of the winter break talk regarding Barcelona, however Valverde made clear that it is an issue for those upstairs at the Camp Nou to deal with.

"I know there has been talk of that, but it is a difference of opinion in contractual matters," Valverde explained during Barcelona's pre-match press conference.

"I don’t think this contractual situation will affect the sporting aspect," said Valverde in his press conference.

"Vidal is training well, as always, and has to sort the matter out with the club. We’ll find a solution internally, it’s not the first time something like this has happened and it won’t be the last. I see no problem.

"After Carles Alena’s move (to Real Betis in loan), nobody else will leave."

Barcelona will face 20th-placed Espanyol at the RCDE Stadium on Saturday, but Valverde is not taking Los Periquitos' lowly place in the LaLiga Santander table for granted, especially in a match of this magnitude.

"We've looked at have done Espanyol have done in recent games and what Abelardo [Fernandez] did at Alaves, how he approached the games against us..." Valverde said.

"They are in a difficult situation. It's a derby and the distances in these games don't exist; you play a lot with your heart.

"They are in a complicated situation and a new LaLiga and a new impulse begins with the incentive that it is a game of a big rivalry.

"We want to win because of that emotional component, too."

Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez only returned to training on January 2, with the rest of their Barcelona teammates having returned on December 29, but Valverde was coy when asked about whether they would play at the RCDE Stadium.

"Like the rest, they had a job to do whilst on their holidays," Valverde stated.

"They arrived safely and we're going to see how they are today.

"We'll decide on [whether they play] tomorrow."