Jordi Alba says the time is right to retire

VIDEO SHOWS: INTER MIAMI TEAM TRAINING SESSION / SOUNDBITES FROM INTER MIAMI DEFENDER JORDI ALBA ON HIS DECISION TO RETIRE FROM SOCCER AT THE END OF THE CURRENT SEASON RESENDING WITH COMPLETE SCRIPT SHOWS: FORT LAUDERDALE, FLORIDA, UNITED STATES (OCTOBER 10, 2025) (INTER MIAMI CF – Must on-screen courtesy 'Inter Miami CF'.  No resales.  No monetisation.) (MUTE) 1. INTER MIAMI DEFENDER, JORDI ALBA, TRAINING WITH TEAMMATES  2. VARIOUS OF INTER MIAMI SQUAD IN A RONDO DRILL / ALBA 3. INTER MIAMI COACH, JAVIER MASCHERANO, WATCHING ON 4. RONDO DRILL 5. INTER MIAMI MIDFIELDER, SERGIO BUSQUETS, IN MIDDLE OF RONDO 6. RONDO DRILL 7. GOALKEEPERS TRAINING FORT LAUDERDALE, FLORIDA, UNITED STATES (OCTOBER 10, 2025) (INTER MIAMI CF – Must on-screen courtesy 'Inter Miami CF'.  No resales.  No monetisation.) 8. (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) INTER MIAMI DEFENDER, JORDI ALBA, ON DECISION TO RETIRE AFTER SIGNING CONTRACT EXTENSION, SAYING:     “It's true that not much time has passed from May until now in October, but hey, it's a decision that I've been thinking about. And I was thinking about it for a while and I let the team and the club know maybe three or four weeks ago. Obviously, it was a decision I needed to make. I know I was the one who had to decide this. And at the end of the day, it was a thought-out decision. I think it is for the best. Obviously, I am still physically well, but I weighed everything, and I think it’s the most honest and correct thing. And it is my decision alone. And I think it is the correct decision.”  JOURNALIST, ASKING:     “But what changed in your head? Because in May, you signed for not just one year, but two more years. You had in your head that you were going to stay for two years. What changed in this time?” ALBA, SAYING:     “Well, just like you can change your mind from one day to the next, just like anyone. Well, mine (change of heart) took several months. So instead of being somewhere where I wouldn’t be 100% or giving my all, which is what I’d want to give, I’d rather step aside. I think the timing is right. And I have other projects in mind. And I really miss Barcelona. And there are a lot of things. I’ve tried to overcome everything here, and obviously, lots of opinions can change from one day to the next. And in this sense, I am pretty calm about it. I think I’ve given 100% here and I still am and will do so until the end of the season.  But just like when I left Barcelona with a year still on my contract, and I decided to leave because I thought it was the honest thing to do and the right timing, well, that’s just how I am. I may have a contract, but it does nothing for me to have a contract and be forced to fulfil it. It’s my decision in the end. Obviously, I could have stayed through 2027, but the fairest thing for me personally and for my family – but especially me, because it is a personal decision – it was the fairest thing and what I was feeling.”  9. WHITE FLASH 10. (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) INTER MIAMI DEFENDER, JORDI ALBA, ON DECISION TO RETIRE AFTER SIGNING CONTRACT EXTENSION, SAYING:     “It’s a lot of things, not just soccer. I think I’m playing at a good level. I think physically, I could keep playing for one or two more years, but I think the timing is right. There’s not much else to think about. It is my personal decision. And I’ve been thinking about this for a while. It wasn’t just from one day to the next. And I obviously spoke with the club first. It’s a personal thing. And I’m sad to leave soccer, but I would be sad if I were to leave a year from now or in five or ten years. But I feel like I’ve made the decision with conviction and really thought about and the decision was clear.”  11. WHITE FLASH 12. (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) INTER MIAMI DEFENDER, JORDI ALBA, ON MESSAGE FROM TEAMMATE, LIONEL MESSI, AFTER ALBA ANNOUNCED HIS PLANS TO RETIRE, SAYING:     “Well clearly, it is how Leo feels. And based on all these years of sharing moments together, not just on the pitch, but off the pitch too. I know how he feels. Maybe you all were a bit more surprised that he’d say those things, but I am with him every day and I know what he really thinks and he knows what I really think. Just like the other players who we’ve been lucky enough to spend a lot of time with like Busi (Sergio Busquets) and Luis (Suarez). And well, when you’re young, you never think this time will come.  But what can you do? As you grow up you understand it. And I like I said, I am confident in what I’ve done, with a lot of conviction. And it is sad because when it’s something you’ve done pretty much your entire life, but I am truly certain and happy with everything I’ve been able to do in this world.” STORY: Inter Miami’s Jordi Alba said he thought long and hard about his decision to retire from soccer at the end of the Major League Soccer (MLS) season, but that in the end he thought the timing was right.      “I’ve been thinking about this for a while. It wasn’t just from one day to the next. And I obviously spoke with the club first. It’s a personal thing. And I’m sad to leave soccer, but I would be sad if I were to leave a year from now or in five or ten years,” Alba told reporters at an Inter Miami training session in Fort Lauderdale on Friday (October 10).      The former Spain and Barcelona defender had signed a contract extension in May to stay at the South Florida club through the end of the 2027 season, but he said after thinking on it, he thought the time was right to pack things up.     “It's true that not much time has passed from May until now in October, but hey, it's a decision that I've been thinking about. And I was thinking about it for a while and I let the team and the club know maybe three or four weeks ago.     “I think it is for the best. Obviously, I am still physically well, but I weighed everything, and I think it’s the most honest and correct thing. And it is my decision alone. And I think it is the correct decision,” he said.     Alba began his youth career at Barcelona, who released him for being too small, but was re-signed in 2012 from Valencia for 14 million euros ($16.34 million) and went on to spend 11 seasons at the Catalan club.     He joined Inter Miami in 2023, linking up with former teammates Lionel Messi, Sergio Busquets and Luis Suarez, while another former Barca colleague, Javier Mascherano, is the current head coach.     The 36-year-old retired from international football in 2023 after making 93 appearances for Spain and was part of the Euro 2012 winning team where he scored in the 4-0 victory over Italy in the final.     Alba won six LaLiga titles at Barcelona, and the Champions League along with the Club World Cup and five Copa del Rey.     In the U.S. he won the Leagues Cup and Supporters' Shield, and will bow out in November after the MLS playoffs. (Production: Kurt Michael Hall)

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