Busquets previewed retirement, midfielder said goodbye to the countdown

Sports Weekly All Media Report

One day ago, Miami International just defeated New York City 4-0 in the American League, qualifying for the 2025 season's playoffs in advance. The next day, the 37-year-old Spanish midfielder Busquets announced through social media that he would retire after the end of this season. So far, Professor Bu has made 105 appearances in various competitions, scoring 1 goal and assisting 16 times; he has made 38 appearances this season, contributing 8 assists.

He posted a short video on his personal social media account and wrote: "Thank you sincerely, thank you soccer, thank you for everything. You will always be part of this beautiful story." In the video, he thanked Club Barcelona, ​​the Spanish National Team and Miami International for their support for his long career, and thanked the fans who have supported him for many years. Busquets said at the beginning of the video that after careful consideration, he felt that now was the right time to retire. "This is my last few months on the field. I retired with happiness, pride, and perfection, and most importantly, thanksgiving." Miami has 5 regular season games left, starting with this Saturday's match against Toronto FC. Among them, there are 3 home games, and they are 5 points behind the top 2 games in the fewer games, and they still have the chance to compete for the regular season championship. The playoffs will start on October 22 and a single final will be held on December 6, which will be the last official championship to compete for in Professor Bu's career. Since joining in 2023, he has won the FAF regular season championship and the North American League Cup.

Sergio Busquets was born out of his youth. His father Carles Busquets was a goalkeeper in Barcelona in the 1990s. Sergio joined Barcelona at the age of 8 to study art. In 2008, Busquets was promoted to the first team with Guardiola, experiencing the "Dream Three" six championships and Enrique's three championships. He won three Champions League titles, nine La Liga titles and seven Cups of Kings' Cups in Barcelona, ​​and also seven Spanish Super League Cups, three European Super League Cups and three Club World Cups. In the Spanish national team, he also completed the Grand Slam and won the 2010 World Cup and 2012 European Cup championships as the main player. In his 18 years of playing for Barcelona, ​​he has made 722 appearances, scoring 18 goals and assisting 46 times; Spain has made 143 appearances, with 2 goals and 9 assists.

Of course, Busquets' contribution is far from being reflected in data. Busquets is as tall as a defender and as a bamboo pole. His skill is more like an attacking midfielder than a traditional No. 5 midfielder. He innovated this position with his superb skills and ingenious shots, especially in the legendary Barcelona coached by Guardiola. Together with Xavi and Iniesta, he is considered a representative figure of Guardiola's pass-by-football control. After winning the La Liga championship in 2023, despite Xavi's retention, he decided to retire successfully. After his contract with Barcelona expired, he joined Alaba as a free agent to join Miami International.

Guardiola once talked about how he discovered Busquets back then. "When I coached Barcelona, ​​I always felt that something was missing in the midfield. I needed a player who could understand my ideas. One day, I went to see the training of the three teams with Tito Bilanova, and suddenly Tito said to me, 'Look at this bad defender!'" He was referring to Busquets, and Guardiola nodded in agreement, saying that he was as slow as a turtle and was very thin. "But I noticed that he was able to get rid of oppression in a way I had never seen before, so I asked the defender's name and they told me that his name was Busquets. Tito said we don't need a bad defender, but I insisted on promoting Busquets to the B team and referring him to the midfield from the center back. Tito said that the player is of poor physical fitness, how can he play as a midfielder?" But Guardiola said: "I don't need a strong player. I need a player who knows how to get rid of oppression."

As it turns out, Guardiola has a very unique vision, just like his teacher back then. See what Cruyff said after watching Busquets' game in 2008, "Technically he is better than Toure and Keita. In terms of position, he is like a veteran, whether with or without the ball. When he has the ball, he makes the tricky things easy, and he can get rid of his opponent with just one or two moves. When he is out of the ball, he teaches us how to intercept in the right position and then regain the ball through the run. And it all happens when he is young and inexperienced. Just like his coach back then."

Perhaps, after retirement, Busquets will become a successful coach like his teacher. Fabregas, one year older than him, has already made his debut in Cuomo. Where will Professor Bu start a new starting point?