{"id":660329,"date":"2025-10-08T04:00:53","date_gmt":"2025-10-08T08:00:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/?p=660329"},"modified":"2025-10-08T00:13:52","modified_gmt":"2025-10-08T04:13:52","slug":"inter-miami-jordi-alba-retire","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/2025\/10\/08\/inter-miami-jordi-alba-retire\/","title":{"rendered":"Inter Miami\u2019s Changing of the Guard Continues: Jordi Alba to Retire"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Days after the legendary career of his Inter Miami, FC Barcelona, and Spanish national team teammate <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/2025\/10\/07\/the-worlds-star-the-leagues-leader-mls-bids-farewell-to-sergio-busquets-and-darlington-nagbe\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">Sergio Busquets was celebrated<\/a> in Miami, Jordi Alba (36)\u2014a star left-back for Valencia, FC Barcelona, Inter Miami, and Spain\u2014<a href=\"https:\/\/www.msn.com\/en-us\/sports\/other\/ex-spain-and-barcelona-left-back-alba-to-retire\/ar-AA1O2oAX\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">announced his retirement<\/a> at the conclusion of the 2025 MLS season.<\/p>\n<h2>A Legendary Career in Spain for Jordi Alba<\/h2>\n<p>Part of Spain\u2019s golden generation alongside the great defensive midfielder Busquets, Alba helped his country win Euro 2012, played in three World Cups, and capped his international career with a title in the 2022\u201323 UEFA Nations League.<\/p>\n<p>After three strong years at Valencia, Alba made over 300 appearances for FC Barcelona across the next decade, winning more than a dozen trophies\u2014including the 2014\u201315 UEFA Champions League and his final La Liga title in 2020\u201321. Known for his blistering speed, attacking instincts, and versatility, Alba excelled both for club and country. Like Busquets, Xavi Hern\u00e1ndez, and Andr\u00e9s Iniesta, he possessed an elite football IQ and tactical sharpness. A prototypical Pep Guardiola full-back, he thrived in the tiki-taka system.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Jordi Alba All 27 Goals For Barcelona (2012-2023)\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/PVmQSKt6npc?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<h3>A Centerpiece of Lionel Messi\u2019s Inter Miami<\/h3>\n<p>With his career winding down, Alba made the move to Inter Miami in the summer of 2023\u2014the same window the club signed MLS MVP Lionel Messi and Busquets (and later, striker Luis Su\u00e1rez). Alba embodied Inter Miami\u2019s \u201cwin-now\u201d approach under owners Jorge Mas and David Beckham. Despite facing younger competition, he showed that class is permanent, and besides Messi himself, was frequently Inter Miami&#8217;s best player on the pitch.<\/p>\n<p>While Inter Miami hasn\u2019t lifted as many trophies as expected in a competitive MLS landscape, the club set a points record last season, advanced to the knockout rounds of the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup, and remains in contention for an MLS title this year.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s likely that Alba, seeing Busquets depart and Su\u00e1rez possibly next, felt it was time to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.msn.com\/en-us\/sports\/other\/jordi-alba-announces-retirement-from-professional-soccer-at-end-of-inter-miamis-2025-playoff-run\/ar-AA1O1I4O\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">\u201copen a new chapter\u201d<\/a>, as he put it in a social media post.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Best GOALS of Jordi Alba in MLS! | The Legendary Defender Announces His Retirement\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/4gaK2RAYVbw?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Whatever one thinks of Messi\u2019s Inter Miami era, the trio of Messi, Busquets, and Alba formed the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/news\/messi\/messi-busquets-alba-how-miami-accomplished-a-historic-mls-transfer-window\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">most famous package of signings in MLS history<\/a>\u2014and they arrived after already achieving greatness together at Barcelona.<\/p>\n<p>All eyes now turn to the record-breaking Lionel Messi as he prepares for one final World Cup with Argentina in 2026\u2014a tournament hosted in North America\u2014and considers how to close out his legendary career, having <a href=\"https:\/\/www.miamiherald.com\/sports\/mls\/inter-miami\/article312156232.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">completed an extension of his contract<\/a> with Inter Miami.<\/p>\n<h3>Former Spur Sergio Reguil\u00f3n Incoming for the Herons?<\/h3>\n<div class=\"getty embed image\" style=\"background-color: #fff; display: inline-block; font-family: Roboto,sans-serif; color: #a7a7a7; font-size: 11px; width: 100%; max-width: 594px;\">\n<div style=\"padding: 0; margin: 0; text-align: left;\"><a style=\"color: #a7a7a7; text-decoration: none; font-weight: normal !important; border: none; display: inline-block;\" href=\"http:\/\/www.gettyimages.com\/detail\/1236968302\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Embed from Getty Images<\/a><\/div>\n<div style=\"overflow: hidden; position: relative; height: 0; padding: 66.66667% 0 0 0; width: 100%;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" style=\"display: inline-block; position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; margin: 0;\" src=\"\/\/embed.gettyimages.com\/embed\/1236968302?et=-3ivKtrAQUd6nuATEpSNCA&amp;tld=com&amp;sig=GE6kYTNwG40MbHNnscxFJJzkmBPxooQiukTtufRvGW4=&amp;caption=true&amp;ver=1\" width=\"594\" height=\"396\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Inter Miami has already signaled its intent to remain among the elite in MLS and North American football, continuing to retool its roster. Rodrigo De Paul, Messi\u2019s 31-year-old Argentine teammate, joined the club from Atl\u00e9tico Madrid this summer <a href=\"https:\/\/www.espn.com\/soccer\/story\/_\/id\/45815515\/how-inter-miami-signed-rodrigo-de-paul-fit-mls-roster-rules\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">on a loan-to-sign deal<\/a>. Now, free agent Sergio Reguil\u00f3n looks <a href=\"https:\/\/www.usatoday.com\/story\/sports\/soccer\/2025\/09\/17\/messi-inter-miami-contract-extension\/86210836007\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">set to put pen to paper<\/a> with South Florida\u2019s MLS side.<\/p>\n<p>Reguil\u00f3n, a Real Madrid academy product, showed flashes of brilliance but battled injuries and inconsistency during a five-year stint with <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/2020\/09\/20\/sergio-reguilon-the-unintended-signing-of-a-super-star\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">Tottenham Hotspur<\/a>. Loan spells at Atl\u00e9tico Madrid, Manchester United, and Brentford couldn\u2019t help him secure a permanent role in North London. At 28, he\u2019s eager to revive his career in MLS after earning six caps with Spain\u2014the last coming in 2021.<\/p>\n<p>While Reguil\u00f3n has drawn interest from several European clubs, he reportedly favors a move to Miami, fitting the profile of the kind of European talent MLS often attracts without Designated Player-level wages.<\/p>\n<p>With Su\u00e1rez and Messi likely to complete the Barcelona era in Miami by 2026 or 2027, Beckham and Mas are already eyeing the next global stars to headline the club\u2019s new chapter\u2014just in time for the opening of their <a href=\"https:\/\/www.miamiherald.com\/sports\/mls\/inter-miami\/article309128260.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">new stadium<\/a> next year.<\/p>\n<p>Main Photo Credit: Imago Images Photo by Chris Arjoon\/Icon Sportswire<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Days after the legendary career of his Inter Miami, FC Barcelona, and Spanish national team teammate Sergio Busquets was celebrated in Miami, Jordi Alba (36)\u2014a star left-back for Valencia, FC Barcelona, Inter Miami, and Spain\u2014announced his retirement at the conclusion of the 2025 MLS season. A Legendary Career in Spain for Jordi Alba Part of [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1442,"featured_media":660330,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[30,1365,2],"tags":[464,4621,502,41,624,337,3478],"class_list":["post-660329","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-barcelona","category-featured","tag-barcelona","tag-inter-miami","tag-jordi-alba","tag-lionel-messi","tag-mls","tag-sergio-busquets","tag-sergio-reguilon"],"modified_by":"Steen Kirby","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/660329","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1442"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=660329"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/660329\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":660334,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/660329\/revisions\/660334"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/660330"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=660329"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=660329"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=660329"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}