Sergio Busquets: the midfielder who anchored Barcelona and Spain

Sergio Busquets played in front of the defence for fifteen seasons at Barcelona and fourteen years with Spain. He was the player his coaches built their midfield around.

Pep Guardiola gave him his chance in the Barcelona B team, and Vicente del Bosque gave him the same trust at the 2010 World Cup.

The numbers

The bars barely move. He played between 42 and 54 games in every full Barcelona season from 2009–10 on, and his busiest year of all was 2025, the last of his career, in Miami.

Guardiola's pupil

Busquets made his first-team debut as a substitute in the Copa Catalunya in the same season, 2007–08, in which he was promoted to the B team under Pep Guardiola. When Guardiola was appointed first-team coach in 2008, Busquets was in his squad. His first La Liga game was on 13 September 2008, a 1–1 home draw with Racing Santander, in which he played the full 90 minutes.

In 2008–09 Barcelona won the Champions League, beating Manchester United 2–0 in Rome on 27 May 2009. Two years later they beat them again at Wembley, 3–1 on 28 May 2011. On 6 June 2015 in Berlin they beat Juventus by the same score, which made Barcelona the first club to win the treble twice.

The trophies

Captain at Barcelona

On 1 August 2014 he was named one of the club's four captains and first led the side out on 3 October 2015 in a 2–1 away defeat at Sevilla. In August 2021, after Lionel Messi left for Paris Saint-Germain, he became the club captain.

The milestones stack up. His 500th game was away at Atlético Madrid on 24 November 2018, his 100th Champions League appearance a 1–1 draw at home to Tottenham on 11 December 2018, and his 600th a 4–0 win at Granada on 9 January 2021. On 12 January 2023 he made his 700th, in the Supercopa semi-final that Barcelona won on penalties against Real Betis after a 2–2 draw. Three days later they beat Real Madrid 3–1 in the final.

On 10 May 2023 he announced that he would leave at the end of the season. It ended with another La Liga title.

Spain

Busquets was called up to the senior squad on 11 February 2009, for a friendly against England. He made his debut on 1 April 2009 as a substitute in a 2–1 win in Istanbul over Turkey, replacing David Silva for 16 minutes in a World Cup qualifier. He went to that summer's Confederations Cup, where Spain finished third.

The World Cup of 2010

Vicente del Bosque selected him for the World Cup, and he played every game and every minute except the last 30 minutes of the 1–0 group-stage defeat to Switzerland in Durban. Spain went on to win the tournament. Busquets completed 88% of his passes, the third-highest rate, level with Carles Puyol.

"If I were a footballer I would like to be like Busquets."

— Vicente del Bosque after Spain's opening defeat at the 2010 World Cup, as published by the RFEF

Two years later Spain won the European Championship, and Busquets was named in the Team of the Tournament. Spain reached the 2013 Confederations Cup final and the final of the 2020–21 Nations League, in which he was named Player of the Finals.

His international career ended at the 2022 World Cup, where he captained Spain. His last match was the round-of-16 game against Morocco, which finished 0–0 before Spain lost 3–0 on penalties. Busquets missed his kick. On 16 December 2022 he announced his retirement from international football, with 143 caps.

Miami

Inter Miami announced his signing on 23 June 2023, and he joined officially on 16 July on a two-and-a-half-year deal. On 20 August 2023 he won his first title with the club, the Leagues Cup, when Inter Miami beat Nashville SC in the final.

On 25 September 2025 he announced that he would retire at the end of the MLS season. His final professional appearance was on 6 December, a 3–1 victory over Vancouver Whitecaps FC in the MLS Cup final.

Why he is remembered

Busquets won the World Cup, the European Championship and three Champions Leagues without ever being the headline. His coaches said the same thing about him again and again: Luis Enrique put it that the best version of the national team needs Busquets.