Long-serving Barcelona midfielder, Sergio Busquets, on Wednesday, May 10, announced he will leave the club at the end of his contract this summer after 18 years at the Nou Camp.
Busquets, who is Barcelona captain, has spent his entire professional career at the club where his father also played.
The Spanish midfielder, however, announced in a video shared on Twitter that he will not renew his contract when it expires on June 30, 2023.
The 34-year-old player first joined Barcelona from Jabac Terrassa as a 15-year-old and went on to make more than 700 appearances for his local club, winning 23 major honours, including eight LaLiga titles and three Champions Leagues.
Busquets has continued as a regular member of the Barcelona first team and has made at least 30 appearances in each of his 15 seasons with the senior squad.
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His emergence served as a hallmark of the Pep Guardiola era in Catalonia, as he was handed his first LaLiga appearance by the then-new boss in September 2008 and went on to form part of a formidable midfield trio alongside Andres Iniesta and Xavi, the current Barcelona manager.
Even as a 19-year-old, he would go on to feature 41 times in his debut season and earned his first LaLiga, Champions League and Copa Del Rey titles in that campaign.
“It has been an unforgettable journey.
“Since I was a child coming to the matches, or watching them on TV, I always dreamed of playing with this shirt at this stadium.
The reality has exceeded all my dreams. I wouldn’t have believed you if you told me when I arrived as a youth player that I would play 15 seasons for the best club in the world, the club of my life, of which I have been, am and always will be a fan, member, player, captain, and surpass 700 matches,” he added in the video announcing his departure.
Busquets’ final game for the club could be a newly announced friendly against Vissel Kobe in Tokyo on June 6, giving Barca’s famous midfield trio a fitting send-off with Iniesta still a regular player for the Japanese side, and Xavi, the current Barcelona coach.
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