Barcelona captain Sergio Busquets looks set to leave the club after 15 years in the first team, having decided that he will not renew his contract at the club.
The Blaugrana, and in particular manager Xavi Hernandez, were keen to hold onto the veteran midfielder, and were offering him a new contract, although on a much lower wage.
That was one of the reasons he has decided to depart, according to Relevo, but one of the smaller ones.
Busquets wants to leave the club on a good note, and winning the league as captain would be a perfect way of doing so. Equally, he remains a key part of operations in the Barcelona midfield, and Busquets would rather leave as a starter than see out his final days at the club as a rotational option.
The fact that Busquets was constantly in the firing line whenever Barcelona struggled in Europe, while rarely being given the credit when they win, also played into his thinking. We are just a season on from a social media campaign asking Busquets to leave the club.
The Blaugrana look as if they will lose one of their all-time greats, and while it may well be the time to move on, Xavi’s concerns over a midfield without Busquets are legitimate, with a very real possibility that they are unable to bring in a good replacement.
While neccessity is the mother of opportunity, Busquets has been so integral to Barcelona for so many years, it might be some time before they look comfortable without him.
