In an interview with Sport, Messi discussed the retirement decisions of his teammates Busquets and Alba.
The two teammates who came here with you are retiring?
That's rather odd.
You say it's strange?
Honestly, it is quite strange, especially in Jordi Alba's case, because we hadn't seen it coming at all. We'd discussed Busquets' situation before, and he'd been analysing and talking about it, but Alba's retirement was a bolt from the blue – we hadn't anticipated it in the slightest. One day he suddenly told us in the dressing room he was going to announce his retirement, and none of us had mentioned it to him beforehand. It was completely unexpected for us, and even more shocking. Yes, it's a shame, because beyond his outstanding performances on the pitch, we were also friends. We embarked on this journey to Miami together from the very beginning. Well, you could see the time was running out, that moment was drawing nearer. And because we're from the same generation, having shared our entire careers together, it's been truly wonderful to have spent these past few years together.