Barcelona trio reunites: Jordi Alba to join Messi Busquets at Inter Miami

Another of Lionel Messi's friends is poised to join him in Miami.

According to the Miami Herald, left-back Jordi Alba will join Inter Miami in the coming days, as he has reached a deal with the club. This means Major League Soccer will soon be home to three of soccer's most famous players -- and they'll all be in the same team again.

Current Spain captain Alba returned to FC Barcelona in 2012 after three seasons at Valencia, and he played with Messi until the Argentine departed for PSG in 2021. Alba and Sergio Busquets, who will also be joining Inter Miami in a matter of days, were Barça teammates and captains up until a couple months ago, when their contracts expired at the Catalan club. They also played for La Roja until Busquets announced his retirement from international soccer last year.

When could Alba debut?

Alba, who made 459 appearances for Barcelona and won 17 trophies at the club, is set to be announced as a new Inter Miami player alongside his longtime teammates on July 16. The trio is expected to debut together during the League Cup match against Cruz Azul on July 21.

Inter Miami will have to do some squad shuffling in order to accommodate Messi as a Designated Player, with midfielder Rodolfo Pizarro expected to leave the club in the coming days to make room. Busquets will take up another Designated Player spot, while Inter Miami appear able to create enough room within the existing salary cap to integrate Alba's new contract.

Iniesta to complete raid of ex-Barça players?

Inter Miami might not be done recruiting Messi's pals just yet. Reports claim that the club will next target Andrés Iniesta during the secondary transfer window, which is open through the month of July in MLS.

Iniesta, 39, recently ended his five-year stint at Japanese club Vissel Kobe and played 16 years alongside Messi at Camp Nou. He has not signaled his intent to retire, and he could be tempted by one more chance to play alongside the GOAT.

However, it remains to be seen how much more space Inter Miami can carve out in its squad to accommodate player wages after the deals for Messi, Busquets, and Alba are finalized.

Adblock test (Why?)