Sergio Busquets’ Barcelona career at an end: Midfield great was both a throwback and a vision of football’s future

Sergio Busquets’ departure from Barcelona marks the end of an era, perhaps the end of the era. The last man from the legendary Barcelona line-up that started the 2011 Champions League final has played his final game for the club at the Nou Camp.

His impending exit has already prompted eulogies from the great and the good, a chance to celebrate the fulcrum of that special side. “He was the best,” said his former coach Pep Guardiola. “He read everything that happened. Anticipated the situations.”