Jordi Alba met with members of the press shortly after arriving at Inter Miami CF ahead of the Herons' Round of 32 clash with Orlando City SC at the 2023 Leagues Cup.
The 37-year-old defender is reunited with former Barcelona teammates Lionel Messi and Sergio Busquets in South Florida.
"This project is very interesting to me"
When asked what he would like to win with Miami, Alba responded "Whatever tournaments we play in" as he sat next to manager Gerardo "Tata" Martino.
"For years I have been fortunate to win everything with Barcelona and almost everything with the [Spanish] national team but this project is very interesting to me.
"I'm here to compete, to win, to play the best possible way, to take care of myself. I'm a very competitive player and this project is very familiar. That's why I made the decision to come here.
"There is solid, hard work behind it. ... the team, the coaching staff, the executives of the club -- I've been here for three, four days and it seems to me that I've been here all my life."
While he acknowledges that reuniting with Messi and Busquets, whom he spent 11 years with at Barcelona, was important, Alba also pointed out the other talented players that Miami possesses.
"Yes, i'm very happy to be together with Busi and Leo again. But it's not only the three of us, there are a number of players that are very good.
"They have shown that quality and we are here to win all the games we can. We're fortunate to have trained with Coach Tata before; we know him, he knows us well.
"We will try to help our teammates, and we'll learn from them as well. They have more experience in this kind of league and I'm very happy about this challenge, and very happy to start."
"I have to adapt to the weather first"
Getting acclimated to the weather in Miami will be a key for Alba to settle in and Martino added that he was pleased with the work put in by his new left-back in training.
"It's not easy to train by yourself, but I was in touch with the coach here at Inter Miami", said Alba. "I worked hard to be competitive when I arrived. I wanted to train together with my teammates and get to know them personally.
"[So] I am physically OK, and the next weeks I will be much better, though I have to adapt to the weather first. It's significant."
"It's an exciting project for me"
While he had other offers besides the one that he eventually took with the Herons, the 37-year-old indicated money was not a factor in his decision.
"It's true I had other offers on the table. But I think the decision to come here was the right one. I had offers that involved more money. I think it was important to me to feel valued; I trust the people at the club, I also trust the mister (Martino).
"This option touched me as the one I liked the most, and it's an exciting project for me. I also saw the desire they had for me to come here."
Messi "is still willing to compete"
To conclude the press conference, Alba spoke about Messi, who finally won his coveted World Cup title and is seemingly in a new place in his career.
"Now he is facing a new challenge, that is to play in Miami and we're here to help him, all the team, the staff. There is a great atmosphere. He's feeling well, he's feeling loved.
"That's very important. He has won everything, yeah, and more. But he's still willing to compete, to win."
