Midfielder Sergio Busquets to leave Barcelona after 18 years at Nou Camp; 34-year-old Spain international has played 719 times for the club he joined as a teenager; Busquets will leave when his contract expires on June 30

Busquets has spent his entire professional career at the club where his father also played, but announced in a Twitter video he will not renew his contract when it expires on June 30. He has been captain of his boyhood club since 2021.

The 34-year-old first joined Barca from Jabac Terrassa as a 15-year-old and went on to make more than 700 appearances for his local club, winning 23 major honours including eight LaLiga titles and three Champions Leagues.

Even in latter years, Busquets has continued as a regular member of the Barcelona first team and has made at least 30 appearances in each of his 15 seasons with the senior squad.

His emergence served as a hallmark of the Pep Guardiola era in Catalonia, as he was handed his first LaLiga appearance by the then-new boss in September 2008 and went on to form part of a formidable midfield trio alongside Andres Iniesta and Xavi, the current Barcelona manager.

Even as a 19-year-old, he would go on to feature 41 times in his debut season and earned his first LaLiga, Champions League and Copa Del Rey titles in that campaign.

It has been an unforgettable journey," he said in the video announcing his departure. "Since I was a child coming to the matches, or watching them on TV, I always dreamed of playing with this shirt at this stadium.

"The reality has exceeded all my dreams. I wouldn't have believed you if you told me when I arrived as a youth player that I would play 15 seasons for the best club in the world, the club of my life, of which I have been, am and always will be a fan, member, player, captain, and surpass 700 matches."
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