Former Barcelona defender Jordi Alba is close to agreeing a deal with Inter Miami, according to reports in Catalonia.
The veteran, 34, has been a free agent since leaving Barcelona earlier this summer, agreeing to terminate his deal a year in advance of its expiry. He has been linked with a number of clubs, and it was thought the arrival of a newborn into his family might keep him in Europe, but it appears he will make the move to Major League Soccer.
Alba has had an offer from Saudi Arabia too, but like former teammates Sergio Busquets and Lionel Messi, is set to turn those advances down in order to move to Florida.
Given Inter Miami have already used up their designated players allowance on Messi, Busquets and Josef Martinez. As such, MD detail that they are looking at using ‘targeted allocated money’ for Alba, which is also exempt from their salary limit, but has a maximum of €2m annually. Inter Miami are thought to be looking for an alternative source of income which will allow them to top up Alba’s salary.
It appears Inter Miami will indeed fulfil their desire to decorate their team with a number of Barcelona greats. Messi, Busquets and Alba remain close friends too, with Messi returning on various occasions over the past two years to have dinner with Alba and Busquets in Barcelona.
