Inter Miami’s Spanish player Jordi Alba said on Friday, after announcing last Tuesday his retirement as a professional soccer player at the end of this season in the United States, that he prefers to “take a step aside” if he is not going to be “at 100%”.
“To be in a place where I’m not going to be 100%, I’m not going to give everything I want or what I should give, I prefer to step aside,” he said at a press conference at Chase Stadium in Fort Lauderdale, 40 kilometers north of Miami, in which the former F.C. Barcelona player commented that it was “a thoughtful decision.”
Hang up your boots and start a new era
“I communicated it to the team three or four weeks ago,” Jordi Alba added at the press conference, which was later joined by Argentine coach Javier Mascherano.
Alba had renewed last March with Inter Miami and had in mind to continue playing two more years in MLS.
But although he is physically well, he declared that “it is the most honest, the fairest thing to do” and a decision that “only” he makes.
The Spaniard is hanging up his boots, but he is not leaving this world, as he is now starting a project in his hometown as one of the heads of the board of directors of CE L’Hospitalet.
This, together with former Spanish-Brazilian footballer Thiago Alcántara, for whom he said he was very excited.
“Proud of my career”
“I’m looking forward to being there on a day-to-day basis and it’s a very nice project,” said Jordi Alba.
The Barcelona-born left-back said he was “proud of the career” he has had.
On his partnership with Argentine star Leo Messi, he said it has been “a connection” that both have had “for a long time” and expressed feeling “very happy to have been able to play with the best in history”.
Inter Miami: Short history, big names
“Inter Miami, with its short history, has had the luxury of having unique and unrepeatable players,” said Mascherano.
“I was able to share six years with him (Jordi Alba) as a teammate at Barcelona, playing very close, me behind him, and I have enjoyed it very much,” said the Argentine coach, who began his relationship with Alba on the Azulgrana club’s turf.
“I think his legacy is not just about his last stage. I think it has to do with his entire career, and he’s had a magnificent career,” he added.
This Saturday, Inter Miami fans will pay tribute to Jordi Alba after the regular season match against Atlanta United, the penultimate game before the playoffs.
With information from EFE
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