Major League Soccer (MLS) club Inter Miami on Friday announced the signing of Spain and Barcelona midfielder Sergio Busquets on a free transfer from the Catalan club. In the process, Busquets is now set to reunite with Lionel Messi, his former teammate at FC Barcelona. Earlier, Lionel Messi completed his move to Miami from PSG in a blockbuster deal that redefined the system of contracts in football.
The club posted a tweet saying, ‘Si, Busi’ referring to the midfielder by his nickname to announce his arrival at the club. The tweet included numerous quotes of praise for the midfielder from imminent personalities including former Barca boss Vincente del Bosque. Notably, the 34-year-old announced in May that he would be leaving Barcelona at the end of the season. Earlier, in December, he had announced his retirement from the Spanish National Team after making a staggering 143 appearances.
Inter Miami are on a mission to create a ‘vintage Barca’ line-up
Playing as a pivot behind Andres Iniesta and Xavi, Sergio Busquets was a part of the iconic midfield trio that tantalised the European stage for multiple seasons. His exploits with the club include nine League titles and three Champions League titles. While Inter Miami freshen things up following a forgettable season in the MLS, they are also linked to another former Barcelona star, Jordi Alba, as they attempt to recreate good parts of a vintage Barca lineup.
Club owner Jorge Mas earlier said that the club would be open to making three to four more signings to accompany Messi in Miami. “We’ve been preparing our roster for Messi’s arrival in ’23, so we left an enormous amount of flexibility,” Mas told the Herald. “We will be making additional signings during the summer window, more than what people anticipate… I can say we will potentially be making between three and five signings,” he added.
Interestingly, Messi was linked with a move to his former home, the Camp Nou, and was ideally his preferred destination. However, the Spanish Champions could not materialise the transfer due to financial issues despite La Liga approving Barcelona’s plan of bringing Messi back to Spain.
