Legendary Barcelona midfielder and World Cup-winning Spaniard Sergio Busquets, 34, has hinted at a possible exit from his boyhood club upon the expiration of his contract in 2023, stating that he has ‘several options’ should he choose to leave the Catalan giants.
Busquets has played close to 700 games for Barcelona and has a trophy cabinet that any footballer would be envious of. Starting off under Pep Guardiola alongside the legendary midfield duo of Andres Iniesta and current manager Xavi Hernandez, he quickly became one of the best in Spain and in the world as well.
With his contract expiring at the end of the season, Busquets’ future has been the subject of much speculation, with a move to David Beckham’s Inter Miami being heavily projected, although nothing is confirmed at the moment.
Busquets has himself made it adequately clear that he has not decided on his future and will only make a decision at the end of the season. He, however, conceded that he has indeed received offers from several clubs but has not agreed or even seriously considered any of those offers, as he is currently focused on Barcelona.
“It is clear that I am not 20 years old, but in the end, a priori, it is the last year of the contract that I signed, I understand that there are rumours, but another thing is that they are false and things are not official until they become official.”
Busquets said.
There have been reports from several reputed sources that the Blaugrana are willing to offer Busquets a one-year extension, which will see him remain at the club until the 2023/24 season. It is nevertheless clear that Barcelona are aware that they will have to look for replacements for the stalwart, and perhaps the signing of Franck Kessie from AC Milan is a step in that direction.
However, sources close to Barca believe that Xavi has identified 23-year-old Spanish youngster Martin Zubimendi from Real Sociedad as Busquets’ successor. Zubimendi is currently under contract with Sociedad until 2025 with a release clause of close to 60 million euro, but the Basque club are actively trying to tie down the youngster to a long-term contract.
