Jordi Alba will join Inter Miami on a free transfer, reuniting with former Barcelona teammates Lionel Messi and Sergio Busquets.
The Major League Soccer team began pursuing the Spaniard weeks ago after Alba confirmed his departure from Barcelona following the expiration of his contract. Over the course of 11 years, he leaves La Liga with 459 games.
It’s the latest bombshell deal for Inter Miami, who decided to overhaul their roster during the league’s secondary transfer window. The Herons first announced Lionel Messi on June 7 after the player revealed his commitment to play for the Eastern Conference team in a television interview.
“I decided to go to Miami,” Messi said. “I still haven’t closed it one hundred percent. I’m missing some things, but we decided to continue the journey.”
Inter Miami then confirmed the arrival of Sergio Busquets a few weeks later before revealing Gerardo ‘Tata’ Martin as the latest head coach to lead the Barcelona duo. Now Alba will join his former teammates in the hunt for the MLS Cup.
The three played together in La Liga between 2012 and 2021, winning five league titles, six Copa del Rey trophies and one Champions League trophy.
The reinforcements will serve Miami well as they are in last place in the Eastern Conference standings with just 17 points in 20 games and a 5W-13L-2D record. The team is almost mathematically disqualified from advancing to the MLS playoffs and cannot climb into one of the top nine spots in the standings.