Sergio Busquets facts for kids
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Busquets with Spain at the 2018 FIFA World Cup
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| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Date of birth | 16 July 1988 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Sabadell, Spain | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.89 m | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Playing position | Defensive midfielder | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Club information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Current club | Inter Miami | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Number | 5 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Youth career | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1995–1996 | Badia | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1996–1999 | Barberà Andalucía | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1999–2003 | Lleida | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2003–2005 | Jàbac Terrassa | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2005–2007 | Barcelona | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2007–2008 | Barcelona B | 25 | (2) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2008–2023 | Barcelona | 481 | (11) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2023– | Inter Miami | 41 | (1) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| National team | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2008–2009 | Spain U21 | 3 | (1) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2009–2022 | Spain | 143 | (2) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2008–2016 | Catalonia | 8 | (0) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Honours
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Sergio "Sergi" Busquets Burgos (born 16 July 1988) is a Spanish professional footballer. He plays as a defensive midfielder for the Major League Soccer club Inter Miami. He is known for his smart passes and great understanding of the game. Many people think he is one of the best defensive midfielders ever.
Busquets joined Barcelona's main team in July 2008. He quickly became a key player. From the 2009–10 season, he played regularly. He was part of a famous midfield team with Andrés Iniesta and Xavi. Busquets played over 700 games for Barcelona. He won 32 trophies, including nine La Liga titles and three UEFA Champions Leagues. He was part of the teams that won the treble (La Liga, Copa del Rey, and Champions League) in 2008–09 and 2014–15. He left Barcelona in 2023 after 14 years.
Busquets first played for Spain's national team in April 2009. He played 143 games for his country and scored two goals. He helped Spain win the 2010 FIFA World Cup and UEFA Euro 2012. He also played in three other World Cups and two European Championships. He stopped playing for Spain after the 2022 World Cup.
Contents
Club Career Highlights
Starting at Barcelona
Busquets was born in Sabadell, Spain. He started playing football with local teams. He joined Barcelona's youth teams in 2005. He scored seven goals for the Juvenil A team in his second year. Two years later, he moved up to the B team. This team was coached by Pep Guardiola. Busquets helped them get promoted to a higher league. He made his first team debut that same season.
"Positionally, he seems like a veteran with or without the ball. With the ball he makes what is difficult look easy: he disposes of the ball with one or two touches. Without the ball, he gives us a lesson: that of being in the right place to intercept and running just to recover the ball."
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Busquets played his first La Liga game on 13 September 2008. He played the whole game in a 1–1 draw against Racing Santander. He scored his first goal for Barcelona in the 2008–09 UEFA Champions League. This was against Basel on 22 October 2008. He scored again in the Champions League against Shakhtar Donetsk.
In December 2008, Busquets signed a new contract until 2013. His first league goal came on 7 March 2009. It was in a 2–0 win over Athletic Bilbao.
Winning the Champions League
On 27 May 2009, Busquets started in the Champions League final. Barcelona won 2–0 against Manchester United. With this win, Sergio and his father, Carles Busquets, made history. They became only the third father-and-son pair to win Europe's top club competition for the same team.
Busquets continued to play well in the 2009–10 season. His coach, Pep Guardiola, preferred him as the main defensive midfielder. On 27 January 2011, he signed another contract until 2015. On 8 March 2011, he scored an own goal against Arsenal in the Champions League. Barcelona still won that game. On 28 May, Busquets played the whole game as Barcelona won the Champions League final 3–1 against Manchester United.
On 24 April 2012, Busquets scored a rare goal. It was his sixth goal in four years. This was in the Champions League semi-finals against Chelsea.
Becoming a Leader
On 16 July 2013, Busquets agreed to a new deal until 2018. On 1 August 2014, he was given the number 5 shirt. This was after Carles Puyol retired. Busquets also became one of the four captains for the club. The other captains were Xavi, Andrés Iniesta, and Lionel Messi.
Busquets played in the 2015 Champions League final on 6 June. Barcelona won their fifth Champions League title by beating Juventus 3–1. This made Barcelona the first club to win the treble twice. Busquets and several teammates became the only players to achieve this twice.
On 3 October 2015, Busquets was captain for Barcelona for the first time. This was because Iniesta and Messi were not playing.
On 1 October 2017, Busquets scored in a 3–0 win against Las Palmas. About a year later, he signed a new contract until June 2023. This contract increased his buyout clause to €500 million. On 24 November 2018, he played his 500th game for Barcelona. On 11 December, he played his 100th Champions League game.
On 9 January 2021, Busquets played his 600th game for Barcelona. Only Xavi, Iniesta, and Messi had played more games for the club. In August, he became the club captain after Messi left. On 12 January 2023, Busquets played his 700th game for Barcelona. He also became the player with the most games in El Clásico (matches against Real Madrid), with 45 games. He also had the most wins in El Clásico.
On 10 May 2023, Busquets announced he would leave Barcelona at the end of the season.
Moving to Inter Miami
On 23 June 2023, Inter Miami announced they had signed Busquets. On 16 July, he officially signed a two-and-a-half-year deal. He joined his former Barcelona teammates Messi and Jordi Alba at the club. He won his first title with Inter Miami on 20 August 2023. They beat Nashville SC in the 2023 Leagues Cup final. On 7 March, Busquets played his first CONCACAF Champions Cup game. He helped his team get a 2–2 draw. On 20 April 2024, Busquets scored his first goal for Inter Miami in a 3–1 win.
International Career
On 11 October 2008, Busquets played his first game for Spain's under-21 team. On 28 December, he played for the Catalan team.
On 11 February 2009, Busquets was called up to the senior squad. He made his debut on 1 April 2009 in a 2–1 win against Turkey. That summer, he helped Spain finish third at the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup.
"If I were a player, I would like to be like Busquets."
Busquets was chosen for the 2010 World Cup. He played every game and every minute for Spain, who won the tournament. He had a very high pass success rate, completing 88% of his passes.
At UEFA Euro 2012, Busquets played every minute as Spain won the title. He was named in the Team of the Tournament. On 8 September 2014, he scored his first goal for Spain. It was in a 5–1 win over Macedonia. His second goal came on 15 November against Belarus. He also played in UEFA Euro 2016.
Busquets played his 100th game for Spain on 9 October 2017. This was in a 1–0 win against Israel. He was then part of Spain's squad for the 2018 World Cup.
On 7 October 2020, Busquets was captain for Spain for the first time. In May 2021, he was chosen for UEFA Euro 2020. He was named captain for the tournament. He missed the first two group games due to COVID-19. When he returned, he was named man of the match against Slovakia. He was also man of the match in the next game against Croatia.
In the 2021 UEFA Nations League final on 10 October 2021, Busquets helped set up a goal. Spain lost the final 2–1 to France. Busquets won the Player of the Finals award for his great performances.
At the 2022 World Cup, Busquets was the captain. In the round of 16, he missed a penalty in a shootout against Morocco. Spain lost that game.
On 16 December 2022, Busquets announced he was retiring from international football. He had played 143 games for Spain over 14 years.
Style of Play
"He's one of the greatest talents that has been given to Spanish football. This is a discovery. The first time I saw Busquets playing, I called a friend and said: ‘I saw a player from an extinct species’. He's a star."
Many experts believe Busquets is one of the best midfielders of his time. He is often called one of the greatest holding midfielders ever. He usually plays as a central or defensive midfielder. He can also play as a central defender. Busquets is known for being very smart on the field. He makes accurate passes and understands the game very well. He doesn't rely on being super strong or fast.
He works hard and is great at winning back the ball. He knows where to be to stop opponents' attacks. He is good at tackling and has excellent tactical sense. Even without being super fast, his positioning helps him a lot. He has great vision, ball control, and technical skills. He is calm with the ball and passes accurately. He rarely loses the ball. With his former Barcelona teammates like Iniesta and Xavi, he helped control the game's speed. He is like a "deep-lying playmaker."
His former manager, Vicente del Bosque, once said: "If you watch the whole game, you won't see Busquets—but watch Busquets, and you will see the whole game." This means he does a lot of important work that might not always be obvious. Busquets is also good in the air because of his height. This helps his team in attack too.
Busquets has sometimes been accused of exaggerating fouls. He has said that his actions are "intelligent" and part of the game.
Many people think Busquets is an underrated player. His teammate Lionel Messi once said: "When there will be trouble, Busquets will always be there."
Personal Life
Busquets' father, Carles, was also a footballer. He played as a goalkeeper for Barcelona in the 1990s.
In 2014, Busquets started a relationship with Elena Galera. They have two sons, born in 2016 and 2018. He has an Arabic tattoo on his left arm. It means "A thing for you, the life in my country." This tattoo is for his maternal grandfather, who he was very close to.
Career Statistics Summary
Busquets has played over 800 professional games. He scored 21 goals in his club career. For Spain, he played 143 games and scored 2 goals.
Honours and Awards
Club Achievements
Barcelona
- La Liga: 2008–09, 2009–10, 2010–11, 2012–13, 2014–15, 2015–16, 2017–18, 2018–19, 2022–23 (9 titles)
- Copa del Rey: 2008–09, 2011–12, 2014–15, 2015–16, 2016–17, 2017–18, 2020–21 (7 titles)
- Supercopa de España: 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2016, 2018, 2023 (7 titles)
- UEFA Champions League: 2008–09, 2010–11, 2014–15 (3 titles)
- UEFA Super Cup: 2009, 2011, 2015 (3 titles)
- FIFA Club World Cup: 2009, 2011, 2015 (3 titles)
Inter Miami
- Supporters' Shield: 2024
- Leagues Cup: 2023
International Achievements
Spain
- FIFA World Cup: 2010
- UEFA European Championship: 2012
- FIFA Confederations Cup runner-up: 2013; third place: 2009
- UEFA Nations League runner-up: 2020–21
Individual Awards
- Bravo Award: 2009
- La Liga's Breakthrough Player: 2009
- FIFA World Cup All-Star Team: 2010
- UEFA European Championship Team of the Tournament: 2012
- UEFA Champions League Squad of the Season: 2014–15
- La Liga Team of the Season: 2015–16
- UEFA La Liga Team of the Season: 2015–16
- UEFA Nations League Finals Player of the Tournament: 2021
- MLS All-Star: 2024
Decorations
- Prince of Asturias Awards: 2010
- Gold Medal of the Royal Order of Sporting Merit: 2011
Images for kids
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Busquets (furthest right) lining up for Spain in 2017.
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See also
In Spanish: Sergio Busquets para niños
- List of footballers with 100 or more UEFA Champions League appearances
- List of men's footballers with 100 or more international caps
- List of FC Barcelona players (100+ appearances)
