Inter Miami defender Jordi Alba has announced he will retire at the end of this season.
Alba, 36, only signed a contract extension with Miami in May, a deal that was due to run until the end of 2027.
The Major League Soccer side, meanwhile, is in advanced talks to sign fellow Spanish left-back Sergio Reguilon on a free transfer.
Reguilon, 28, has been a free agent since his contract with Tottenham Hotspur expired in July and Miami is close to finalising a deal for him. The MLS roster freeze deadline was on September 12, so unless an exemption is granted, Reguilon will be ineligible to feature to Miami until the 2026 season.
Reguilon departed Spurs in the summer (Marc Atkins/Getty Images)
Reguilon came through Real Madrid’s youth academy and made 22 appearances for the club’s first team. After a season on loan at Sevilla, he joined Tottenham in September 2020 and went on to make 73 appearances for the north London club.
However, after falling out of favour at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, he returned to Spain to spend the 2022-23 season on loan at Atletico Madrid. Reguilon spent the first half of the following campaign on loan at Manchester United before ending the 2023-24 season on loan at Brentford. He has made six appearances for Spain, but has not received an international call-up since October 2021.
Alba announced his decision to retire in a post on Instagram, saying “it is the right moment to start a new chapter and close the current one with a beautiful feeling”.
The defender came through Barcelona’s La Masia academy, before leaving to sign for Valencia and then rejoining the Catalan club in 2012. He became one of the best left-backs in the world, winning six La Liga titles and one Champions League in an 11-year spell with Barcelona, as well as the 2012 European Championship with the Spanish national team.
He follows teammate Sergio Busquets in announcing his retirement after the midfielder confirmed in September he would call time on his professional career at the end of the 2025 MLS season.
Miami has two games left of the MLS regular season, against Atlanta United and Nashville, and is third in the Eastern Conference.
What does Alba’s retirement mean for Miami?
The fireworks of summer 2023 will never be forgotten – Lionel Messi’s free kick to start his Inter Miami career was unforgettable. Now, two-thirds of the Barcelona trio that joined Miami two years ago has announced they will be walking away from the sport at the end of this season.
Alba’s shocking announcement that he would retire at the end of this season, joining Busquets, who made his own retirement announcement last month, means Inter Miami will have a much more different look next season than they did this one.
The departure of Busquets and Alba will open two designated player spots in 2026. We know one of them will be filled by Rodrigo De Paul, whose loan option will be triggered at the end of the season, making him a DP. But Miami suddenly now has the flexibility to go add an attacking talent to the team with no financial restrictions.
Worth watching now is whether or not Luis Suárez remains on with Miami next season or whether a No. 9 shoots to the top of the list. Either way, Inter Miami has a chance to put a high-level winger or forward around Messi in 2026 — will they look for an in-prime piece to complement the legendary No. 10?
