End of an era: Jordi Alba announces his retirement from professional soccer | OneFootball

For many years, the MLS has had a reputation for being a league that attracts football stars to retire. In some ways, this is true. However, in the last couple of months, many young footballers and experienced players have decided to come to the US to play instead of staying and competing in the Saudi Arabian league or even playing in Europe.

On the other hand, there are more cases of players who come here and enjoy their last minutes of professional football in a less demanding league.

Although it has been proven that the MLS is one of the most competitive leagues in the world.

Nevertheless, one thing is clear. The era of superstar players in the US is coming to an end, as many are approaching retirement.

Last month, Sergio Busquets announced his retirement, and now, unexpectedly, another Spanish legend has also revealed he is leaving the sport.

Jordi Alba is leaving at the end of the season

Yesterday, the former FC Barcelona left-back announced on his social media that after the 2025 season, he is done. Right now, Jordi Alba is enjoying and preparing for the last minutes of his professional career, and it depends on how far the Herons make it into the playoffs.

There are two ways of looking at the announcement. The first one is the story told by the player: due to personal reasons, Alba will finish playing this season with Inter Miami, and it is over. Lionel Messi, the Heron's captain, posted a comment about this news:

With Alba’s departure, Inter Miami will end up with a massive void in the left-back position. However, this comes in handy.

Two days ago, Fabrizio Romano tweeted that Inter Miami was in advanced talks with Sergio Reguilon, a current Tottenham player and former Real Madrid wonderkid.

If you connect the dots, the news that Inter Miami is already looking for a replacement for Jordi Alba only accelerated his decision to retire. Knowing that if Reguilón arrives, Alba would see his playing time reduced.

One could assume that the Spanish legend didn’t want to be relegated from his starting position, so he made the decision before Javier Mascherano made it for him, as he would end up being a substitute for Reguilon.