“I feel that the time has come to say goodbye to my career as a professional soccer player. It has been almost 20 years enjoying this incredible story that I have always dreamed of,” the 37-year-old midfielder said in an emotional Instagram video.

The numbers of the legend

The defensive midfielder made 722 appearances for Barcelona, the third most in the history of the club. In these appearances he won 32 trophies that include nine La Liga titles, seven Copa del Rey wins, and three UEFA Champions League victories. His career total of trophy tally stands at 36 major titles across Barcelona, Spain and Inter Miami.

At the international level, Sergio Busquets made 143 appearances for Spain while being a part of the 2010 World Cup winning line-up and the UEFA Euro win in 2012. A remarkable achievement of the midfielder was that he played every minute of both the tournaments and transcended himself to a cornerstone of Spain’s golden generation. He decided to leave international football behind in December 2022 after the Qatar World Cup.

The man who redefined a position

Pep Guardiola’s guidance and Busquets’s brilliance helped him redefine the role of a defensive mid-fielder. Vicente del Bosque, former Spain coach, observed, “If I could be a player now, I would like to be Busquets. He can play.” This was his way of putting down the brilliance of the man into words.

The brilliance of Busquets was the positional intelligence, press-resistant ball retention and creation of passing lanes that easily transformed defense into attacking opportunities. His economy of movement was the perfect recipe for maximizing impact while minimizing effort, an embodiment of the quote often made about him, “look at the game and you don’t see Busquets; look at Busquets and you see the whole game.”

The Miami chapter

Busquets became a part of Inter Miami in July 2023 alongside his former Barcelona mates Lionel Messi and Jordi Alba. The trio played a significant role in Inter Miami’s first-ever trophy win, the 2023 League Cup. In 2024, he played a key role as the club won their first Supporter’s Shield, playing more minutes than any other outfield player.

The legacy that will not end

Pep Guardiola once said, “He is one of the greatest talents that has been given to Spanish football. The first time I saw Busquets playing, I called a friend and said, ‘I saw a player from an extinct species.’ He is a star.”

As the curtains draw on the decorated career, football will remember him as an architect whose blueprint for the deep-lying playmaker position changed the modern game. His farewell marks the end of an era, but his tactical innovations will last the test of time and live on as his most lasting contribution to the beautiful game.