Bad news for Messi: Jordi Alba has announced his retirement from professional soccer

Inter Miami is experiencing a time of farewells. Jordi Alba has announced his retirement from professional soccer at the age of 36, just one week after the confirmation of Sergio Busquets's departure, marking another emotional closure in the cycle of former Barcelona players who accompanied Lionel Messi for more than a decade.

"The time has come to close a pivotal chapter in my life. I have made the decision to end my career as a professional player at the end of this season. I am doing so with absolute conviction, fulfillment, and happiness," the defender said in a visibly emotional video posted on his social media.

Trained at La Masia, Alba was a central part of Barça's most successful era, where he won every possible title, including the 2015 Champions League. His speed, his ability to move forward, and his almost telepathic understanding with Messi made him a key piece of a team that defined an era.

In his farewell message, the full-back recalled the clubs that shaped his journey: Atlético Centro Hospitalense, Cornellà, Nàstic de Tarragona, Valencia, Barcelona, and Inter Miami, as well as his time with the Spanish National Team, with which he won the 2012 European Championship and played in three World Cups.

"Soccer has given me absolutely everything. Today I am closing this chapter knowing that I have given everything. Thank you, soccer, thank you for so much," he concluded.

His retirement leaves a symbolic void: that of the attacking full-backs who changed the modern game and of a partnership that made history alongside Messi. With his departure, Inter Miami says goodbye to another icon and world soccer loses one of the last representatives of a generation that combined talent, loyalty, and titles in quantities rarely seen.