'Very strange' - Lionel Messi rocked by 'out of the blue' Jordi Alba retirement announcement as Inter Miami superstar admits premature end to long-time partnership is a 'shame'

The news that Busquets, at the age of 37, plans to hang up his boots whenever Inter Miami's MLS Cup playoff run comes to an end was not a surprise to Messi. The pair had already discussed the subject between them before the announcement came. But Alba, himself 36, hadn't spoken about it before revealing his decision to also end his playing career this year.

During a trip back to Barcelona, Messi told SPORT that it will be "very strange" to be playing without either of them in his team after literal decades together.

"The truth is, it was very strange, especially Jordi's situation, because we weren't expecting it. With Busi, we'd been talking about it more, and he'd already been analysing it and talking about it. But with Jordi, it was from one day to the next; we weren't expecting it," Messi explained. "He caught us one day in the locker room and told us he was going to announce it, that he was retiring without having spoken about it or discussed it beforehand. It was from one day to the next for us, and it was more surprising."

The trio all joined Inter Miami in 2023 and played a significant role in building the fledgling club into one of Major League Soccer's biggest hitters. A Leagues Cup in 2023 and the Supporters' Shield would be topped if they can go all the way in the playoffs and win the 2025 MLS Cup next month.

"It's a shame because beyond what we enjoyed on the pitch, we're also friends," Messi continued. "We started this challenge of coming to Miami together from the beginning. Well, you also see that there's less and less time left, and the moment is getting closer to everything, also because we're from the same generation, we did our whole careers together, and being able to share the last few years together was also very nice."

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Messi grew up with both Busquets and Alba at Barcelona. Just two years separates the trio, with locally-born Alba the first to join when he entered La Masia in 1998. Messi arrived from Argentina in 2000, and although Alba was released in 2005 before eventually making his way into the professional game with Valencia, Busquets arrived that same year and stayed for the next 18. Alba, of course, then returned in 2012 once he had established him as a La Liga star and Spain international. All leaving Barcelona as club legends at the end of the 2022-23 season, it has now been two and a half years more together in MLS.

Unlike his friends, Messi has no plans to call it a day just yet, only recently signing a new three-year contract until 2028 that wakes the eight-time Ballon d'Or winner beyond his 41st birthday. For now, he is satisfied with how things are and has no reason to walk away.

"I'm happy with how these years have gone, and on the field, as long as I can and feel good physically, I'm going to keep doing it the same way, trying to compete, to win, and to always give my all," he further told SPORT. "The moment I see that I'm not physically up to it, that I'm struggling on the field, or that I'm not enjoying it, that will be the moment to call it quits, but right now I'm enjoying it, I feel good, and that's where we are."

Messi retiring from international football in the wake of the 2026 World Cup is much more plausible, unlikely to still be playing in 2030 and having already won everything there is to win with Argentina.

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