The era of Pep Guardiola in Manchester City is still going on, but the one in Barcelona is over. It was officially over way back in 2012, when he parted ways with his beloved club, but now it’s essentially over, with Sergio Busquets’ announcement. The excellent midfielder will leave the Nou Camp stadium after 719 games. This way, the golden period in the history of the Catalans will be formally put to an end, because none of the players from his tenure will be in the club anymore. Guardiola spent four years on Barca’s bench, won as many as 14 trophies, he was the one who promoted Busquets to an important member of the team and symbolically that cycle ends precisely with the departure of the 34-year-old midfielder. When this season comes to an end, the myth of an unrepeatable team will live on throughout history.28th May 2011 – Barcelona defeat Manchester United at Wembley with the greatest team ever assembled.28th May 2023 – Sergio Busquets, the last remaining player of that incredible starting XI, plays his last match for Barça at the Spotify Camp Nou. pic.twitter.com/V45YXfKT6A— Barça Buzz (@Barca_Buzz) May 10, 2023 And the team was a spectacular one. Victor Valdes was between the posts, Dani Alves and Erik Abidal on the flanks, Carles Puyol and Gerard Pique in the stopper positions, Sergio Busquets, Xavi, Andres Iniesta in the middle, and David Villa and Pedro in the attack along with Lionel Messi. Other important players in the team where Javier Mascherano, Rafael Marquez, Cesc Fabregas, Yaya Toure, Adriano, Samuel Eto’o, Thierry Henry, Alexis Sanchez, Zlatan Ibrahimovic…Fifteen years and 31 trophies later, Busquets calls it quits at BarcaThree titles, two Champions League cups, as many Copa del Rey trophies, three Spanish Super Cups, two UEFA Cups and a FIFA World Cup each. All this as a testimony to how strong the team was. Since 2014, the team’s leadership began to dissipate, and the end came with Busquets’ decision to leave the place to younger players and open a new chapter in his career. Interestingly, three of Guardiola’s dominant team are still active. Lionel Messi is in Paris Saint-Germain and it is widely mentioned that he could return to Barcelona, Pedro plays for Lazio, while Iniesta is in Japan. Many stayed in football, such as Mascherano (coach of the U20 national team of Argentina), Puyol (ambassador of the Primera), Pique (founder of the Kings League), while others didn’t have such luck, as Dani Alves is currently in prison, waiting for his trial about a possible rape and Eric Abidal had to undergo a liver transplant in 2012, before becoming club’s sporting director and later getting divorced after having an affair with Barca Feminin player Kheira Hamraoui.##NAJAVA_MECA_7252397##
