Barcelona coach Xavi Hernandez has addressed the departure of midfielder Sergio Busquets, who will be leaving the club after 18 years to pursue other opportunities. Xavi stated that it is an injustice that Busquets was never among the candidates to win the Ballon d’Or despite his impressive skills on the field.
Busquets made over 700 appearances for Barcelona during his time at the club, a feat only surpassed by Lionel Messi and Xavi. He played alongside Xavi and Andres Iniesta for many of these games, who both figured on the Ballon d’Or podium during their careers, while Busquets has only been nominated once, finishing 20th in 2012.
Xavi spoke highly of Busquets, calling him the best pivot, deep midfielder, whatever you want to call it, that he has seen with his eyes. He added that Busquets is perhaps the most intelligent midfielder he played with and has been a 10 out of 10 in every department, making him the best pivot in Barca’s history.
Xavi stated that he respects and understands Busquets’ decision to leave this summer, even though he added it will be detrimental to the team, with the former Spain international still a regular starter.
In addition to Busquets, Barca’s director of football Mateu Alemany will also depart at the end of the season, and he has been in advanced negotiations to join Premier League side Aston Villa. Xavi said that they are losing an important asset and has been a key person in restructuring the club, along with sporting director Jordi Cruyff.
Xavi spoke on Cruyff’s future, saying that nothing has been decided, and it is uncertain if he will renew. Barca is reportedly considering Deco to join as director of football as the club restructures their recruitment team in the coming months.
On the pitch, Barca is two points from winning their first LaLiga title since 2019. Xavi stated that claiming the title at their local rivals, Espanyol, is not an additional motivator for him. He said that what they value is the work done across the season to reach this position, not one derby game. He believes that winning the league would represent a big step forward as the club is being rebuilt.
Barca have a fully fit squad for their upcoming game against relegation-threatened Espanyol, who are second bottom and three points from safety with just five games to go in the season.
