2023-05-13 15:50:01
Barcelona coach Xavi believes that a new era will begin in the Catalan club, with captain Sergio Busquets announcing his departure at the end of the current season, following the expiration of his contract.
The pivot player was a major element in the club’s successes, winning 3 titles in the European Champions League, and he could secure the ninth title in the local league if he beat Espanyol on Sunday.
Busquets occupied a defensive position in the middle behind the stars Andres Iniesta and Xavi himself, while the trio participated in Spain’s successful campaign in the 2010 World Cup when the “La Roja” team won the only World Cup in its history.
However, the Spanish coach expressed his hopes that the current young duo Pedri and Gavi would surpass the achievements of the trio in Barcelona, and said, “We are working to form a new (era).”
“I hope that players like Gavi and Pedri will surpass us, this life, this sport,” the former coach of Al-Sadd said in a press conference today, Saturday.
And the former midfielder added, “I hope that they will surpass us. I hope that they will follow in the footsteps of Busquets and achieve his successes. A new era begins.”
Busquets, 34, played more than 700 matches with Barcelona, raising 31 titles on his way. But his highest position in the Golden Ball award for the best player in the world was the 20th place in 2012.
Xavi commented, “He is the best defensive midfielder I have seen. Not naming him the Golden Ball award was unfair to me.”
Busquets had previously revealed that he prefers to focus on cups rather than individual titles, and tomorrow, Sunday, he will have an opportunity to include his team in the league title for the first time since 2019, given the great difference with his closest competitors.
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