Sergio Busquets is rumored to leave Barcelona at the end of this season. Busquets’ departure then will mark the end of the era of the iconic midfielder trio that Barca once owned.
European transfer expert, Fabrizio Romano, on Wednesday (10/5/2023) reported that Sergio Busquets will leave Barcelona on a free transfer at the end of this season. If all plans go well, an official announcement regarding Busquets will be made within the next 24 hours.
Sergio Busquets, who is now 34 years old, actually still has a fairly important role for Barcelona this season. So far, the original La Masia product has made 27 appearances in the top competition of the Spanish League, La Liga.
Busquets is currently also the main captain of Barcelona. With the decision to leave Barcelona at the end of this season, the defensive midfielder will end his 18-year service at Camp Nou.
The end of the era of the legendary Barca midfield trio
Born and raised in Catalunya, Sergio Busquets successfully penetrated the Barcelona first team in the 2008-2009 season under Josep “Pep” Guardiola’s coaching. Together with Barca, Busquets developed to form an iconic midfielder trio with Xavi Hernandez and Andres Iniesta.
The Busquets-Xavi-Iniesta trio became an important part of Barca in winning various prestigious titles. The combination of the three also brought glory to the Spanish national team. Previously, Sergio Busquets has announced his decision to retire from the Spanish national team by uploading it to his personal Instagram account in December 2022.
The Barcelona mainstay midfielder has captained the Spanish national team in recent years, including when he appeared at the 2022 World Cup. Sergio Busquets decided to retire after recording 143 caps or appearance with the La Furia Roja squad.
During his career to date, Busquets has tasted various titles, including 8 La Liga trophies, 3 Champions Leagues, 1 FIFA World Cup and 1 European Cup. Xavi is the first of Barca’s legendary midfielder trio to retire. Meanwhile, Iniesta left Camp Nou in 2018 and is now working with Vissel Kobe in the Japanese League.
After Xavi retired and now coaches Barcelona and Iniesta moves to Japan, Sergio Busquets will close the story of Barca’s legendary midfield trio at the end of the season.