Inter Miami manager Javier Mascherano has addressed the rumours of Sergio Busquets calling time on his career at the end of the MLS season.
Reports surfaced in the past few days that former Barcelona star Sergio Busquets is leaning towards retirement, though ‘Busi’ has yet to confirm any decision.
Questions over whether Inter Miami would extend the veteran’s contract have fueled speculation in recent weeks, and ahead of Wednesday’s match against NYCFC in New York, Javier Mascherano addressed the situation.
Mascherano insisted he hasn’t heard anything directly from Busquets following Partidazo COPE’s report.
Sergio Busquets is set to retire at the end of the MLS season. (Photo by Eston Parker/ISI Photos/ISI Photos via Getty Images)
“It’s what I’ve read and heard as well, but there’s nothing official,” Mascherano said. “I’m not the type to go ask players about rumors. Sergio is fully committed to the team and to the season, and we’re not focused on speculation.”
Busquets, who is MLS’s third-highest earner this season at $8.8 million, has quietly been one of MLS’s most effective playmakers since his arrival.
He joined Inter Miami shortly before his longtime Barcelona teammate, Lionel Messi, did, and has recorded 14 assists and one goal from a deep-lying defensive midfield position.
The 37-year-old is in the final months of his contract, which expires this December, and signs increasingly point toward retirement.
While his departure would leave a big hole for the club to fill in midfield, Inter Miami’s blockbuster loan signing of Rodrigo De Paul this summer should help – if the club decides to use the deal’s purchase option to make the move permanent at the end of the season.
If Busquets decides to call time on his career, he leaves as one of the best to have ever played the sport. He’s won 37 trophies as a club and national team player with Spain, with his wins in the World Cup, UEFA European Championship, and three Champions Leagues being the highlights.
He has also won nine La Ligas and in MLS, he’s won a Supporters’ Shield and the Leagues Cup. He is aiming to finish his decorated career by potentially winning the MLS Cup this season.
