Sergio Busquets says goodbye to Barcelona

Barcelona have announced that Sergio Busquets’ contract will expire at the end of this summer, ending a period in which he had a chance to win eight La Liga titles and three Champions League titles.

Busquets, 34, received an offer from the Barça coach Xavi Hernández, in which he expressed his desire that the club captain stay on the team. However, after spending 18 years at the Catalan club and 15 years in the first team, Busquets decided to spend the last years of his football career elsewhere.

Busquets has yet to reveal his next move, but ESPN revealed in January that he had a lucrative offer to join a club in Saudi Arabia. Busquets also stated that he was interested in playing in Major League Soccer and that he was affiliated with various teams called Miami Inter.

His ex-partner, Lionel Messi, who is now at Paris Saint-Germain, was also linked to his move to Saudi Arabia and Miami with Busquets.

A Barça legend says goodbye. #5ergioUnic pic.twitter.com/SWlDN2GtA2

— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) May 10, 2023

SEARCHES AFTER MESSI AND XAVI…

Messi (778) and the Barca coach Xavi (767) are the only two players who have played for more Barcelona than Busquets. Busquets will leave the team as the club’s third most played player. Busquets has played 719 games so far, and if he plays in the last five league games of the season, he could increase that figure to 724 before he leaves.

During that time he has won 31 trophies, including 8 La Liga titles and 3 Champions League titles, and it is likely that he will win another league title before his contract officially expires on June 30.

Barcelona could win La Liga for the first time since 2019 on Sunday if they win away to Espanyol. Busquets also won a World Cup and a European Championship with Spain, but he announced his retirement from the national team after the World Cup in Qatar last year after playing for the national team 143 times.