When Lionel Messi announced his move to Inter Miami in the summer of 2023, two of his most trusted Barcelona teammates followed him across the Atlantic within weeks. Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba - two home-grown products of Catalonia who had won everything there was to win at FC Barcelona - chose MLS for the final chapter of their playing careers.
What followed was a three-season story that ended in the most Catalan way possible: with a trophy lifted together, on the same night, in their very last professional match. Here is the story of the Catalan players at Inter Miami, and how you can walk in their footsteps back home in Barcelona.
Who are the Catalan players who played for Inter Miami?
Exactly two: Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba, both products of FC Barcelona's famous La Masia academy and both multi-champions with the Blaugrana before their Miami adventure.
Sergio Busquets was born in Sabadell, in the Barcelona metropolitan area, on 16 July 1988. A deep-lying playmaker of rare intelligence, he joined La Masia in 2005, made his first-team debut in 2008 under Pep Guardiola, and went on to play 722 matches for Barcelona over fifteen seasons, winning 33 trophies including nine La Liga titles and three Champions Leagues. With Spain he lifted the 2010 World Cup and Euro 2012, earning 143 caps.
Jordi Alba was born in L'Hospitalet de Llobregat, just south-west of Barcelona, on 21 March 1989. A pacy left-back, he actually left La Masia as a teenager - the academy released him in 2005 - rebuilt his career at Cornellà and Valencia, and returned to Barcelona in 2012. The homecoming worked out rather well: six La Liga titles, the 2014-15 Champions League, and a goal in the Euro 2012 final for Spain, with whom he won 93 caps.
The Miami years, 2023-2025
Busquets signed for Inter Miami on 16 July 2023; Alba followed on 20 July. They landed at a struggling club and immediately changed it. Alongside Messi, they won the Leagues Cup in their very first month - the first trophy in Inter Miami's history - and the Supporters' Shield as the best regular-season team in MLS in 2024.
Then came the perfect ending. Busquets announced his retirement on 25 September 2025; Alba followed with his own announcement on 7 October. Alba had even signed an extension to 2027 that spring, but the farewell was already written. On 6 December 2025, both started the MLS Cup final against Vancouver Whitecaps and finished on the winning side of a 3-1 victory, lifting the trophy together in their final professional match.
Both players left with the complete Miami set: Leagues Cup 2023, Supporters' Shield 2024 and the 2025 MLS Cup. The club, meanwhile, moved into its new home - Nu Stadium at Miami Freedom Park, near Miami International Airport - in April 2026, and Messi carries on without them.
What they had already won in Barcelona
Before Miami, the two Catalans had filled their trophy cabinets at Camp Nou:
- Busquets at Barcelona (2008-2023): 9 La Liga, 7 Copa del Rey, 3 Champions Leagues, 3 Club World Cups, 3 UEFA Super Cups and 7 Spanish Super Cups.
- Alba at Barcelona (2012-2023): 6 La Liga, 5 Copa del Rey, the 2014-15 Champions League (where he scored in the semi-final), 1 Club World Cup and 4 Spanish Super Cups.
Add the national-team haul - the 2010 World Cup and Euro 2012 for Busquets, Euro 2012 for Alba - and you have two of the most decorated players Catalonia has ever produced. On the basketball side of Catalan sporting glory, our guide to Pau Gasol and Marc Gasol tells a parallel story.
Busquets has already come home
Here is the twist that makes this story especially appealing for visitors: Sergio Busquets is back in Barcelona. Since August 2026 he has been an assistant coach at Barcelona Atlètic, the club's reserve team, while he completes his coaching badges. The boy from Sabadell who retired in Florida now takes training sessions a few kilometres from where it all began.
Follow in their footsteps: a football pilgrimage through Catalonia
If the story pulls at you, the good news is that their map of Catalonia is small, well connected and easy to cover in a weekend.
Sabadell, Busquets' hometown. Some 20 minutes by train (FGC from Plaça Catalunya) from central Barcelona, Sabadell is a solid, hard-working city with a handsome modernista centre, the Parc de Catalunya and a long footballing tradition of its own. It is not a tourist hotspot - which is precisely its charm.
L'Hospitalet de Llobregat, Alba's. Immediately south-west of Barcelona and effectively part of the city's fabric, l'Hospitalet is one of the most densely populated cities in Europe and a gateway neighbourhood of Catalan football. Pair it with a stroll around the Gran Via and the Fira district.
Spotify Camp Nou. The temple where both made their names - Busquets debuting under Guardiola in 2008, Alba returning in 2012 - is back. After the Espai Barça redevelopment, Barcelona returned to the stadium in November 2025 and capacity has been growing phase by phase towards 105,000. The club museum, long the most-visited in Catalonia, is reopening alongside the works. Tours run around the construction schedule, so check availability on the club's official site before you go - and note that Camp Nou is already booked to host the 2029 Champions League final, as we covered here.
La Masia. The academy that shaped both players now operates from the Ciutat Esportiva Joan Gamper in Sant Joan Despí, where the first team also trains. It is not a museum you can simply walk into, but the surrounding neighbourhood and the training-ground town make a nice half-day for football pilgrims.
Seeing a match. The surest way to feel what Busquets and Alba lived is to watch Barça play. The league season runs from August to May; tickets for big matches are scarce and priced accordingly, but a midweek league game can be surprisingly affordable.
Practical tips
- When to go: the football season runs September to May; spring and early autumn are ideal for combining a match with city sightseeing.
- Getting around: Sabadell and L'Hospitalet both sit on commuter rail lines from central Barcelona - no car needed.
- Match tickets: buy from the club's official channels; avoid street resellers around the stadium.
- More Barcelona: if the football pilgrimage leaves you hungry for the city's classics, our guides to Casa Batlló and the Catalan public holidays fit neatly around any fixture list.
The Catalan chapter of Inter Miami is closed now - two La Masia kids who went out as champions. Their Barcelona one is still there to be visited.
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