BECKHAM PAYS TRIBUTE AFTER JORDI ALBA ANNOUNCES RETIREMENT
Inter Miami's Jordi Alba has announced he will retire at the end of the 2025 MLS season. Co-owner David Beckham paid tribute, calling the former Barcelona star a "great player."
After Jordi Alba startled everyone by revealing his upcoming retirement, Inter Miami co-owner David Beckham wrote an emotional farewell to the "great" player.
Alba committed to the Herons through the 2027 season when he signed a two-year agreement with Inter Miami just five months ago. However, at the conclusion of the 2025 Major League Soccer season, the renowned left defender finally decided to hang up his boots.
The biggest personalities in the sport, including Beckham and Lionel Messi, responded to the unexpected move. The Manchester United icon sent Alba an emotional message on social media.
Beckham posted on Instagram, "Congratulations on a very remarkable career, Jordi." "Having you don the Miami pink over the past few seasons has been such an honour.
We will always be thankful that you and your lovely family joined us on this unique journey. You are an amazing player who always acted with professionalism, decency, and a big smile both on and off the pitch.
"My friend, you will be missed," Beckham concluded.
After relocating to Miami in 2023, Alba rose to prominence as one of the league's top fullbacks. The 36-year-old assisted the Herons in winning the Supporters' Shield the next season after winning the Leagues Cup the previous year.
The two trophies were added to Alba's 20 other accolades from his illustrious career playing for Barcelona and Spain.
At the end of this season, Inter Miami will have to bid farewell to Sergio Busquets in addition to losing Alba. Javier Mascherano will be missing two of his best and most reliable players going forward after the midfielder announced his retirement back in September.
Alba has made 44 appearances in all competitions in the season alone, recording seven goals and eleven assists. In contrast, Busquets has made 48 appearances and contributed 10 assists.
Even though Inter Miami still has the remainder of the regular season and the MLS Cup playoffs to consider, the team is already planning Alba's succession. According to reports, the Herons are in negotiations to recruit Sergio Reguilón, a former full-back for Real Madrid and Tottenham Hotspur, on a free transfer.
CRISTIANO RONALDO PROTESTS AL-HILAL'S BENZEMA DEAL BY SKIPPING AL-NASSR LEAGUE MATCH
Cristiano Ronaldo is fuming. Discover why the Al-Nassr star skipped his last match and is now threatening to leave Saudi Arabia.
Cristiano Ronaldo has been the main attraction in the Saudi Pro League ever since he landed in the Middle East three years ago. Now, for the first time, it looks like he’s actually thinking about leaving. He’s frustrated. He feels the playing field isn’t level, and it’s starting to get to him.
Here’s the deal: Four clubs in the league—Al-Ittihad, Al-Nassr, Al-Hilal, and Al-Ahli—get their backing straight from the state. But Ronaldo sat out Al-Nassr’s match against Al-Riyadh on Monday night. Why? He was protesting. He found out Al-Hilal was about to sign Karim Benzema from Al-Ittihad, and that was the last straw. From Ronaldo’s perspective, Al-Hilal keeps getting more freedom to splash cash than everyone else. They’re the current champions, and Ronaldo still hasn’t managed to win his first Saudi title.
Saudi officials tried to calm him down. According to Diario AS, they reached out and argued that most of Al-Hilal’s extra spending comes from Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal, not the Public Investment Fund (PIF). Al-Hilal just brought in Kader Meite for €30 million, Saimon Bouabre for €23 million, and now Benzema. Al-Nassr, on the other hand, only managed two free transfers this winter. Sure, they spent a lot more in the summer, but that didn’t seem to matter to Ronaldo.
Reports from Portugal, cited by AS, say Ronaldo’s not ruling anything out—not even leaving Saudi Arabia this summer. That’s despite just signing an extension with Al-Nassr until 2027.
And honestly, he has a point. Since he arrived, Al-Hilal have spent €647 million, while Al-Nassr have shelled out €410 million and Al-Ittihad €365 million. These numbers probably don’t include salaries—and let’s face it, nobody’s making more than Ronaldo. He’s supposed to return on Friday when Al-Nassr face Al-Ittihad, but right now, no one really knows if he’ll play or if he’s planning his next move.
N’GOLO KANTE SKIPS TRAINING AS AL-ITTIHAD BLOCK HIS MOVE TO FENERBAHCE OFFICIALLY
N’Golo Kante has gone on strike at Al-Ittihad after a paperwork error blocked his move to Fenerbahce. Can he still sign by Friday?
N’Golo Kanté didn’t show up for Al-Ittihad training on Tuesday, and it’s not hard to see why. He was all set to head to Fenerbahçe, but the deal fell apart at the last minute—apparently because Al-Ittihad messed up some paperwork. Kante was supposed to fly to Istanbul and sign, but thanks to this administrative slip, he’s stuck in limbo. There’s still a shot at reviving the transfer sinceKanté Turkey’s transfer window stays open until Friday, February 6.
Kante was one of the first big European names to jump to the Saudi Pro League, joining Al-Ittihad in 2023 after seven years with Chelsea. He’s been a key player in Jeddah, helping Al-Ittihad win the 2024-25 league title and the King’s Cup.
Then, in the middle of the January window, word got out that Fenerbahce wanted him. The Turkish club were eager to add a World Cup winner to their squad. The plan was to swap Kante for Youssef En-Nesyri, who’d head to Saudi Arabia. Everything seemed set until deadline day, when news broke that an error by Al-Ittihad in the Transfer Matching System stopped the transfer cold.
Fenerbahce didn’t hold back. They blamed Al-Ittihad directly, saying they’d done everything right: agreements with the players, medicals, paperwork, all wrapped up on time. But Al-Ittihad entered something wrong in the system, and that was that. Fenerbahçe even asked for an extension and reached out to FIFA, but nothing moved. In the end, the deal died, and Fenerbahçe put out a statement saying they understood the frustration and would keep working to strengthen the squad.
Meanwhile, Kante’s making his feelings clear. According to Ben Jacobs, he skipped training on Tuesday, still hoping the move to Fenerbahce can happen. Santi Aouna says talks between the clubs aren’t dead yet. L’Equipe is reporting that Kanté doesn’t want to play for Al-Ittihad while he waits for FIFA’s decision. With the Turkish window open until Friday, there’s still a glimmer of hope for Kante, though En-Nesyri’s move is off the table for now.