On Sunday, reports emerged claiming that Barcelona captain and midfield mainstay Sergio Busquets is all set to join MLS outfit Inter Miami at the end of the season.
Building on those claims, AS is now reporting that while Barça are yet to receive a total confirmation regarding Busquets’ decision to leave in the summer, they believe that his departure is 95% certain at this moment.
A long-standing servant of the club, Busquets has been a permanent fixture in the centre of the park for Barcelona for almost 15 years and has performed admirably during that time, leading the club to great success.
While his performances have deteriorated somewhat of late, manager Xavi Hernandez still sees the 34-year-old as a valuable commodity and was hoping to convince him to extend his stay at Spotify Camp Nou by another year.
However, while Xavi desired Busquets’ continuity, club officials are said to be seeing his potential departure as a boost as it would free up a large chunk of the salary mass in the summer, which in turn would help the Blaugrana achieve Financial Fair Play.
Busquets has made close to 700 appearances for Barcelona and is only behind Lionel Messi and Xavi on the list of players with the most number of games played for the club.
While Xavi is keen on retaining his services for another year, Busquets has seemingly made up his mind as he has been disappointed with the criticism he gets each time the team fails to deliver.
So, even though Barcelona are yet to receive an official confirmation on his decision, as things stand Busquets’s exit is 95% certain, with a switch to Inter Miami emerging as the likeliest option, where he could potentially be joined by Lionel Messi