Sergio Busquets
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Sergio Busquets Burgos (Catalan: [busˈkɛts], Spanish: [ˈseɾxjo βusˈkets]; born 16 July 1988) is a Spanish former professional footballer who played as a defensive midfielder and spent most of his career at La Liga club Barcelona. A deep-lying playmaker known for his passing and reading of the game, Busquets is widely regarded as one of the greatest defensive midfielders of all time. Busquets arrived in Barcelona's first team in July 2008 and went on to receive the La Liga's Breakthrough Player in 2009. From the 2009–10 season, he was a first team regular and was a key playing contributor to the club for 14 years, until his departure at the end of the 2022–23 season. Busquets made over 700 total appearances for the club, winning 33 trophies, including nine La Liga titles, seven Copa del Rey titles and three UEFA Champions Leagues. With the initial management guidance by Pep Guardiola and using the tiki-taka football philosophy, Busquets was part of a widely lauded midfield combination trio with Andrés Iniesta and Xavi; from 2008 to 2015 the trio together were instrumental in Barcelona's exceptional on-field successes in seven seasons, winning five La Liga titles, three Copa del Rey titles, three Champions League titles and the continental treble (all three titles simultaneously) twice, in 2008–09 and 2014–15. After joining Major League Soccer side Inter Miami in 2023 and winning three trophies, Busquets retired from football at the end of the 2025 season. Busquets made his senior international debut for Spain in April 2009, making 143 appearances for the national side, scoring twice. He helped his country win the 2010 FIFA World Cup and UEFA Euro 2012 tournaments, and he also featured at three other World Cups and two European Championships. He retired from international football following the 2022 World Cup.