In early October, Inter Miami’s Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba announced they will officially retire once the current MLS season ends.

They both say that it just feels like the right time to start a new path in their lives, and also want to spend time with their families. The two played together in the past, back at Barcelona for 11 years. From 2012 to 2023, they played together in Barcelona, and from 2023 to the present, they have still played together in Inter Miami. They also played on  Spain’s national team together for a long time up until the end of the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

Speaking of retirement, Inter Miami’s eight-time Ballon d’Or winner, Lionel Messi, is suspected to be retiring soon, too. But hopefully not until after the 2026 FIFA World Cup, that way he has a chance to win his second World Cup title. Messi still has not given an official answer to whether or not he will participate in next year’s World Cup, so all we can do right now is hope.

“I do think Messi will retire soon. It will also make his teammates’ gameplay not that good, and Messi’s teammates will be very sad,” Gurpartap Singh, a freshman at ERHS, said when asked about Messi’s potential retirement.

ERHS Soccer Coach Kenneth Bonanken also gave his thoughts on the matter.

“He [Messi] says he’s not sure if he’ll even make it long enough to participate in the 2026 World Cup, but most soccer fans are certain he’ll play this next summer. You’d imagine all his time and efforts in club soccer is played with the intention of keeping his sharpness up for his remaining time in international soccer,” Bonanken said.
“As for the effect it’ll have on his teammates, there will always be a feeling of need to rebuild. Especially for Argentina, even with such a large talent pool, there will be a bit of time needed to adapt to a new era after their best player of the last two decades is no longer there,” Bonanken continued, when asked about the effect Messi’s absence might have.

In conclusion, Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba’s careers have been very successful and have formed a very good friendship. They have had many accomplishments in the world of soccer, and hopefully, they can win this final MLS season and leave with another amazing accomplishment, together.