Barcelona’s Busquets Retires From International Football

Spanish professional footballer who currently plays as a midfielder for La Liga giants, Barcelona, Sergio Busquets, has announced his international retirement.

The 34-year-old player announced his decision on Friday, Naija News reports. The retirement move made Busquet, the last member of the 2010 World Cup-winning team, to bow out of international football.

“I would like to announce that after almost 15 years and 143 matches, the moment has arrived to bid farewell to the national team,” the Spanish player noted on his social media platforms on Friday.

Busquets was also part of the team that won the 2012 European title. He played and captained Spain at the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar before their unfortunate exit from the competition after losing a penalty shoot-out to Morocco in the last 16.

“It has been an honour to represent my national team and help lift it higher, to being European and World champions. To have been captain and to have played so many matches with a certain level of success and always trying to do my best,” Busquets added in his retirement note.

He stated that he would be just another fan giving his home country team unconditional support. Naija News understands that Busquet made his international debut in the build-up to the South African World Cup, where Spain wowed fans with their tika-taka passing game.

Alongside his Barcelona teammates Andres Iniesta and Xavi Hernandez, Busquets was at the heart of the World Cup and Euros double.

“He will transcend the generations due to his immense heritage,” the president of the Spanish football federation Luis Rubiales, said in a statement while reacting to the player’s retirement.

Only his fellow 2010 team-mates Iker Casillas (167) and Sergio Ramos (180) represented Spain more often than him, Naija News understands.

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