Sergio Busquets, one of the great symbols of Fútbol Club Barcelona, has announced his retirement from professional football at the end of the 2025 season with Inter Miami. At 37 years old, the midfielder from Badía del Vallés puts an end to a career of almost two decades in the elite, in which he conquered all possible titles both at club and national team level.
The announcement was made through a video titled "Every ending is a new beginning", broadcast on his social networks during the early hours of the morning. "I am retiring very happy, proud, full and above all grateful. It has been almost 20 years enjoying this incredible story that I always dreamed of," explained the emotional former Barça captain.
Sergio Busquets: a pillar of the best Barça in history
Busquets debuted in the first team in the 2008/09 season under Pep Guardiola. Since then, he has established himself as a key player in the culé midfield alongside Messi, Xavi and Iniesta, forming part of the most successful cycle in the club's history. For 15 seasons he wore the Barça shirt, becoming captain and playing nearly 700 official matches, surpassed only by Messi and Xavi.
His trophies with Barça include 3 Champions League titles, 9 La Liga titles, 7 Copa del Rey titles, 3 Club World Cups, 3 European Super Cups and multiple Spanish Super Cups. A legacy that places him on the podium of the best defensive midfielders in modern football.
Eternal gratitude to the club of his life
In his message, the player from Badía del Vallés had words of gratitude towards the club that trained him: "Thanks to Fútbol Club Barcelona, the club of my life. Here I fulfilled the dreams I had as a child, I wore the shirt I loved, I celebrated titles and I lived unique moments at the Camp Nou that I will never forget."
Sergio Busquets: "Thanks to Fútbol Club Barcelona, the club of my life, here I fulfilled the dreams I had as a child, I wore the shirt I loved in hundreds of matches, I celebrated many titles and I lived unique moments at the Camp Nou that I will never forget."
Busquets left his mark not only for his tactical ability and his reading of the game, but also for his silent leadership and his loyalty to the colors. In 2023 he closed his stage at Barça and embarked on the road to the MLS, in an Inter Miami that received him as an immediate reference.
World champion with Spain
With the Spanish national team, Sergio Busquets also reached the top. He was world champion in South Africa 2010 and won the 2012 European Championship, forming part of an unrepeatable generation that dominated international football. "It was an honor to represent it so many times," he said in his farewell message.
Busquets' American stage alongside Messi and Alba
After leaving Barça, Busquets joined Inter Miami in 2023, where he once again shared a dressing room with Lionel Messi and Jordi Alba. In the United States he remained an undisputed starter, first under the orders of Gerardo Martino and later of Javier Mascherano.
Now he faces his last matches, with the MLS final scheduled for December 6 as a possible culmination of his career. "The team now expects his contribution in the final stretch of the campaign, in which he will put an end to an extraordinary career in which he conquered numerous titles and recognitions," Inter Miami stressed in an official statement.
The retirement of Sergio Busquets marks the farewell to one of the great standards of Barcelona and world football. His unique style, based on tactical intelligence and effective simplicity, has left an indelible mark on several generations. The midfielder says goodbye as a legend, but his name will remain forever linked to Fútbol Club Barcelona and to the great history of football.