Sergio Busquets, long the metronome of Barcelona and Spain, has announced that he will step away from the game at the conclusion of the 2025 Major League Soccer season.
At 37, the midfielder who preferred invisibility to glamour has chosen his moment, leaving an imprint that will endure long after his final pass is played.
Born in Sabadell on July 16, 1988, Busquets inherited footballing instincts from his father, Carles, who once guarded the goalpost for Barcelona B.
The young Sergio was absorbed into La Masia, Barcelona's famed academy, where technique, precision and tactical nous were emphasised above all else.
It was in those early years that his gift became clear: the ability to see patterns before they formed, to occupy the space where danger was about to arrive, to tilt the rhythm of a game in his team’s favour.
The academy generation that grew alongside him would become legends.
Lionel Messi, Pedro and Gerard Piqué all walked the same corridors, and under Pep Guardiola in 2008, Busquets was ushered into Barcelona’s first team.
What followed was a masterclass in longevity and intelligence. Over 18 years he played 722 times for the club, a record marked by 34 trophies, including nine La Liga crowns, seven Copa del Rey titles and three Champions League triumphs.
He remains the man with the most appearances in El Clasico, having taken the field 48 times in Spain’s fiercest duel.
On the international stage he was the anchor of Spain’s golden age, winning 143 caps and forming with Xavi and Andres Iniesta a midfield that dictated the world’s tempo.
The World Cup of 2010 and the European Championship of 2012 bear his imprint, achievements that confirmed his status among football’s most cerebral operators.
His international retirement came in 2022, a curtain call to a glorious chapter.
The final act of his career took him across the Atlantic. Arriving in Miami in 2023, Busquets reunited with Messi, Jordi Alba and Luis Suárez, and they steered Inter Miami to the Leagues Cup in 2023 and the Supporters’ Shield in 2024.
He has since remained the club’s compass, guiding play with the same understated authority that defined his European prime.
As he looks toward his last season, he has made plain his ambition to deliver the franchise its first MLS Cup.
The list of his achievements reads as a ledger of football’s grandest prizes. Nine La Ligas, seven Copa del Reys, seven Spanish Super Cups, three Champions Leagues, three UEFA Super Cups, three FIFA Club World Cups, a World Cup, a European Championship, the Leagues Cup with Inter Miami and an MLS Supporters’ Shield.
Busquets confirmed his decision on social media, expressing gratitude for the dream he has lived across nearly two decades.
It was a career of function, of anticipation and of making others better. Football’s great orchestras often depended on him for their music.