Sergio Busquets will leave Barcelona this summer after 15 years with the team, according to Barcelona.
After 15 years with the team, Sergio Busquets revealed on Wednesday that he was departing.
He is now anticipated to move to Saudi Arabia and join Al Hilal, sparking rumors that Lionel Messi may do the same this summer.
Busquets' current contract expires at the end of the current campaign. Barcelona had offered him a new one, but accepting it would have required him to accept a pay cut of 70%.
He put it off because Barcelona has been trying to persuade La Liga that they can afford to re-sign Messi in recent weeks.
There is an unspoken agreement between Messi and Busquets that they will play one more season together before calling it quits.
The two players could reunite in Saudi Arabia this summer as a result of Busquets decision to leave Bara, which came just 24 hours after Messi's father Jorge had to refute a rumor that his son had already signed for Al Hilal.
For Busquets to join the team, the offer is approximately 15 million euros each season tax-free. Jordi Alba's contract with Barcelona expires in 2024, and Al Hilal are also interested in signing him. Alba had hoped to complete his contract in order to receive the 17 million euros he is entitled to in his last season, but the Saudi Arabian club would more than make up for that.
At the club, his choice means the end of an era. He was the lone survivor of Barcelona's legendary midfield, which Pep Guardiola put together in the 200809 campaign.
Busquets was only 19 years old when he was called up to train with the first squad during Guardiola's first preseason, and he hasn't looked back since. After Barcelona defeated Manchester United in Rome, he received a Champions League medal within a year. When Guardiola shocked many by allowing the club to sell Yaya Toure to Manchester City in the second season, he truly took off.
Fans of Bara questioned the club's decision to transfer such a valuable commodity to a rival in Europe, but Guardiola's actions had a purpose because he was already aware that Busquets would serve as the team's holding midfielder for the ensuing ten years.
The title "holding midfielder" does not accurately describe his function. He was Barcelona's and Spain's "Captain Sensible," always keeping his cool. He was also the metronome.
When Iniesta and Xavi flanked him, his role was primarily defensive, but as soon as they went, he started to take on a more offensive role by playing killer passes, generally to Messi. His assists started to carry as much weight as his interceptions.
Iniesta previously provided the following definition of Busquets when asked by Sports Mail: "intelligent, necessary, indispensable for any team, special." He'd always been a natural leader. He regards his job as being in the team's best interests. Because 'Busi' is a unique individual, we all adore him.
To the very last detail, he was professional. He received a GPS vest and a training schedule from Spain's fitness coach Rafael Pol when he signed a contract with Covid at the beginning of the most recent Euros, which was his final international competition. He adhered to the schedule so diligently that, based on the data from the vest, he could have returned for Spain's second group game, but coach Luis Enrique decided to err on the side of caution and save him for Spain's final group match.
Vicente del Bosque, Busquets' first manager in Spain, once remarked that if he could be resurrected as any player, it would be Busquets. Busquets responded with Guardiola when the same question was posed to him.
All eyes will be on him when he has finished building his money in Saudi Arabia to see if he follows Guardiola and Xavi into management. He has reportedly commented in the past, "It's not easy, but I want to try."
Busquets will start for Barcelona against Espanyol on Sunday in what will be his final Catalan derby. Busquets will have his ninth league championship if Bara wins the game; his previous trophy haul included three Champions Leagues, a World Cup, and a Euros.
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