Messi set to be joined by Barcelona legend at Inter Miami

Tom Weber

• Updated: 13 Jun 2023 17:45 BST
• 3 min read

Barcelona legend Jordi Alba is in talks with Inter Miami, according to Fabrizio Romano.

The left-back has departed Barcelona as a free agent and could be reuniting with Lionel Messi in Major League Soccer soon. Alba's former Blaugrana teammate made his intention to sign for David Beckham's MLS club clear last week in an announcement that rocked the world of football.

Though nothing is officially signed yet, Miami, MLS and Messi are confident of being able to strike a deal that is both lucrative to the Argentine but also viable so as to not bring the Fort Lauderdale club into conflict with the league again, as happened in 2021 over the signing of Blaise Matuidi.

READ: How much Lionel Messi will earn at Inter Miami

Messi and Alba have already had their fill of financial mismanagement after seeing what has been happening at Barcelona. In fact, Alba left the Blaugrana in order to alleviate the club's economic woes and allow them to sign new players.

What did Romano say?

According to transfer expert Fabrizio Romano, "Jordi Alba is now in active negotiations to join Inter Miami — it’s a concrete possibility" But just as with the Messi deal, nothing is set in stone yet as there are still other interested parties.

"Alba has two proposals from Saudi [Arabia]," the Italian announced to his 15.5 million Twitter followers, "he has made no final decision yet. [The] player will assess his options and decide in the next weeks."

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If he indeed chooses to sign for Miami, it will be interesting to see how Beckham's club structure the deal. Unless he is willing to take a truly massive pay cut, Alba will be a Designated Player (DP), but Miami's last DP spot will, by that point, likely already be filled out by Messi.

With them also in talks with Sergio Busquets, Angel di Maria and Luis Suarez, they will most certainly have to make some painful roster adjustments like selling talented youngster Leo Campana and buying Rodolfo Pizarro out of his contract all just to accommodate a 34-year-old left-back (whom they do not really need) and potentially another ageing player.