The aging of Sergio Busquets has been a matter of serious concern for FC Barcelona in the last couple of years. While the veteran star was widely regarded as one of the very best in his role in the world during his prime years, at the age of 34, Busquets is not the same as before.
His role in the Catalan team was always essential, and it still does as one could notice this season as well. When he is on the pitch, Busquets brings composure and control into the midfield with his unmatched intelligence and experience, something that others can’t in the current squad.
As one of the most clever players that see the field in a different dimension, Busquets’s presence was crucial in every team he played in, either playing for the Spanish national team or any Barcelona team he was part of.
Quite famously, Vicente del Bosque once said about him in one of his interviews: “You watch the game, you don’t see Busquets. You watch Busquets, you see the whole game.”
These praising words are a testament to his extraordinary abilities, explaining why the likes of del Bosque and Guardiola insisted on him in the past, and why Xavi still does despite his advanced age.
Busquets’s current contract runs out at the end of June, but according to recent reports, the Blaugrana captain is expected to renew for one more season with the club and even manager and old teammate Xavi Hernandez has previously expressed his desire to keep the veteran anchorman after the end of the season.
“Busi for me is crucial. He is tactically a perfect footballer and I hope he stays, but… it depends on him” claimed the Catalan manager.
Barcelona have already offered Busquets a contract extension until 2024, and although the player has not yet given his final answer, there remains optimism about his continuity at the club beyond June 30th.
However, it is inevitable that Sergio Busquets will leave that Catalans at one point or another, and should he finally depart his boyhood club in the next summer window, Barcelona will go all out for Real Sociedad’s talented midfielder Martín Zubimendi, as reported by Gerard Romero.
The 24-year-old Spanish midfielder is considered the perfect candidate to inherit Busquets’s prestigious role in the Catalan team, and despite him renewing his contract last December until 2027 with a €60 release clause, the club is ready to give everything for Zubimendi’s signature.
However, before the acquisition could materialize, two conditions have to be met. Concretely, Xavi has to stay as the manager as he is an admirer of the player and secondly, the club must recover financially to be able to afford the €60 million signing.
