Sergio Busquets names two players who could replace him at Barcelona
Sergio Busquets has named Manchester City's Rodri and Real Sociedad's Martin Zubimendi as his potential successors.
Busquets is set to play his final competitive game for Barcelona this weekend against Celta Vigo at Balaidos stadium, bringing an end to his 15-year first-team career at La Blaugrana.
The holding midfielder leaves the club as the third highest appearance maker in its history, and with three UEFA Champions League, nine La Liga, seven Copa del Rey and three FIFA Club World Cup winners' medals.
In light of Busquets' departure, Barca manager Xavi Hernandez has explained that finding a replacement for the legendary midfielder was a priority for the club during the summer.
"You have to find that piece. If we want to compete well next year, it’s essential," Xavi remarked. "Busi has been fundamental to getting the Super Cup and La Liga. We have to find a very important player to replace Busquets.”
In an interview with Mundo Deportivo, Busquets himself was asked who he believes has the skillset to replace him at Barcelona, and the 34-year-old was keen to pick out Zubimendi and City star Rodri as players who shared his footballing 'DNA'.
"I know there's a lot of talk about players, about Rodri, about Zubimendi," Busquets said. "They are very good players and perhaps the ones that most match the DNA and the style that is wanted here but they are in another team, they belong to another club.
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Barcelona have recently been linked with a move for Bayern Munich's Joshua Kimmich, with 90min revealing that the German international is considering his future in Bavaria amid interest from the Catalan giants, Real Madrid and Manchester United.
When asked about the links to Kimmich, Busquets replied: "It's a little different, it's German football, the national team. In the end, you don't just have to look for the same DNA, but you have to look for players with other profiles that may be important for certain games but we also have players at home.
"We have Nico, who is on loan, and I think he is doing very well, although it is true that he has lacked a bit of continuity but he is very talented, has many conditions and we must give the opportunity to the people of the house , young people, and that financially you know that you will not spend the price of a transfer that today I do not know if we are qualified.
"They are also players who understand the club and the style of play. We have home players who are giving us a lot and we didn't expect it."