“The time has come to announce that this will be my last season with Barça,” revealed Sergio Busquets, 34, in the video that Barcelona published on its social networks. After meditating on it for months, the Barça captain had a plan devised. He had informed the president Joan Laporta and, of course, his agent Josep Maria Orobitg. “I’m not going on,” he had expressed to them. Instead, he had not said a word to his teammates or to the coaching staff. His plan was to notify everyone this Wednesday morning before training at the Ciudad Deportiva Joan Gamper. And so he did. However, his decision did not surprise anyone in the Barça dressing room. Everyone had already found out from the press that after 15 years in the first team, 719 games (he could reach 724 if he plays the five games remaining for Barça in the League) and 31 titles, Busquets is leaving Barcelona. His future, however, is still unknown. They tempt him from Saudi Arabia, while Inter Miami does not want to get out of the bid for the pivot. And, in their environment, they do not rule out the Premier League.
Vicens Gimenez ((c) Vicens Gimenez)
It happened, in any case, that Xavi Hernández did not want to lose Busquets. “He is one of the best midfielders in world football and the best defensive midfielder in the history of Spain,” he reflected. For the coach, in any case, Busquets was much more than a symbol. He was the barca game thermometer. “He is fundamental to us,” he insisted. He was on the field and also outside. “He has a lot of ancestry among young people,” Xavi finished off.
While Xavi insisted that he stay, Busquets’ agents were negotiating with the football team to renew his contract, which expires on June 30. Barcelona’s offer was 30% of what the pivot currently charges. The intense search of the club to reduce the uncontrolled expenses is not alien to the salary mass of the first team nor to its captains. “We have tried to lower the salaries of some players, but we have not succeeded,” Laporta had exposed in the last assembly after negotiating with Busquets, Jordi Alba and Piqué. “We have some salaries that are out of the market, the players with these chips are impossible to transfer to other clubs. The great objective is for these salaries to disappear ”, added, that same day, Mateu Alemany, then director of football for Barcelona. Piqué retired from football in the winter market and Busquets decided not to continue at Barça. But he will not forget about the ball.
One of the first options presented to Busquets was the MLS. Inter Miami has been following in the footsteps of the pivot for a long time, as well as his friend Lionel Messi. The offer, in any case, is in stand by. The player is not completely convinced by the idea of emigrating to the United States, the salary is not too tempting, much less the lifestyle. “He is going to spend the year on top of a plane. You have a game in Los Angeles, another in New York, then you have to travel to Canada. There are many hours of flight, a long time away from his house, ”they commented from the footballer’s environment. Along the way appeared Saudi Arabia. According to Sports world, there are three teams that want him: Al-Shabab, coached by the Spanish Vicente Moreno; Al-Nassr, a team in which Cristiano Ronaldo plays; and Al-Hilal, the institution that offered Lionel Messi 400 million euros per season. Pep Setvalls, one of Busquets’ agents, traveled to Riyadh this week to listen to offers. “In England there is a coach who also wants it. We’ll see ”, they add from the footballer’s environment.
Busquets is still not clear about his destination. But yes, he said goodbye to Barcelona. And although it was not as he would have liked – he wanted to be the one to communicate it to his colleagues -, this Wednesday he stood in front of the group to explain his decision. “I want to thank all the people who have made it possible to experience all this from the first day to the last. Club workers, physiotherapists, doctors, kit men, delegates, communication, managers, presidents, coaches, staff, analysts, physical trainers and above all my teammates, with whom I have shared thousands of hours of coexistence, jokes, talks, training, games, sadness, celebrations… Being a Barça player is the best thing there is”, Busquets finished off. He has already left the national team, now also Barcelona. His legacy, in any case, will live on. This is how Xavi understands it: “He is a player who has made history, a legend”. The same thinks the club. “Barca legend. #5ergioUnic”, Barça fired him on their social networks.
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