Sergio Busquets Burgos is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for La Liga club Barcelona.
21 Facts About Sergio Busquets
2.
Sergio Busquets is widely regarded as one of the greatest defensive midfielders of all time.
3.
Sergio Busquets helped the country win the 2010 World Cup and Euro 2012 tournaments, and featured at three other World Cups and two European Championships.
4.
Sergio Busquets retired from international football following the 2022 World Cup.
5.
Sergio Busquets scored seven goals in 26 games for the Juvenil A team in his second season and, two years later, Busquets was promoted to the B team under Pep Guardiola, and helped them achieve promotion to the third division.
6.
On 16 July 2013, the day he celebrated his 25th birthday, Sergio Busquets agreed to a new deal until 2018, with the buyout clause remaining unaltered.
7.
On 10 May 2023, Sergio Busquets announced he would leave Barcelona by the end of the season.
8.
On 11 October 2008, Sergio Busquets earned his first cap for Spain's under-21 in their 2009 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship qualification play-offs first-leg away match against Switzerland.
9.
On 11 February 2009, Sergio Busquets was called up to the senior squad for a friendly against England.
10.
Sergio Busquets was selected by manager Vicente del Bosque for the 2010 World Cup in the same country, assuming the holding midfielder role naturalized Brazilian Marcos Senna had previously occupied in the conquest of UEFA Euro 2008.
11.
At UEFA Euro 2012 in Poland and Ukraine, Sergio Busquets played every minute as Spain won the title, and he was named in the Team of the Tournament.
12.
Sergio Busquets was selected for the final tournament in France.
13.
On 7 October 2020, Busquets captained the Spanish for the first time in a goalless friendly draw away to Portugal, as Sergio Ramos was on the bench.
14.
Sergio Busquets tested positive for COVID-19 eight days before Spain's first game, causing the entire squad to withdraw from their final warm-up match against Lithuania.
15.
On 16 December 2022, Sergio Busquets announced his retirement from international football, having made 143 appearances in a 15-year period.
16.
The first time I saw Sergio Busquets playing, I called a friend and said: 'I saw a player from an extinct species'.
17.
Sergio Busquets is known for redefining the deep-lying midfield position by focusing on football intelligence, precision passing, and an 'genius' ability to read the game rather than overwhelming strength or physicality.
18.
Sergio Busquets's role has been likened to that of a metodista, due to his ability to dictate play in midfield as well as assist his team defensively.
19.
Sergio Busquets has been accused of play-acting in the past, due to his tendency of exaggerating fouls.
20.
Sergio Busquets played as a goalkeeper for Barcelona for several years during the 1990s, although almost exclusively as a backup.
21.
Sergio Busquets sported an Arabic tattoo on his left forearm translating to "A thing for you, the life in my country", dedicated to his maternal grandfather to whom he was very close.