Sergio Busquets and 4 Other Players With the Most Appearances for FC Barcelona

Sergio Busquets and 4 Other Players With the Most Appearances for FC Barcelona

Byron Pillay
updated at May 11, 2023 at 8:00 AM
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  • Sergio Busquets has made over 700 appearances for Barcelona, but it's not the most in the club's history
  • Another superstar remains Barcelona's most successful player and also has the most appearances
  • Both Gerard Pique and Busquets ended their legendary runs with Barcelona during the 2022/23 season

It’s the end of an era for another Barcelona legend.

After 719 games for the Spanish giants, Sergio Busquets has decided to leave the club.

Sergio Busquets, Sport, World, Soccer, Barcelona, La Liga, Lionel Messi, Andres Iniesta, Gerard Pique, Xavi Hernandez
Sergio Busquets has called an end to his time at Barcelona, going down as one of the club's longest-serving stars. Image: David Ramos.
Source: Getty Images

As noted by Goal, the veteran midfielder confirmed that the 2022/23 season will be his last.

With five games remaining in the season, Busquets could finish on 724 appearances for the club, making him Barcelona’s third longest-serving player.

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Sports Brief looks at five players who made the most appearances for the side and how they fared at the club.

Lionel Messi - 778

Undoubtedly Barcelona’s greatest player, Messi made 778 appearances for the Catalan giants. Messi also scored 672 goals and notched up 303 assists during that time, and won numerous trophies with the club.

Xavi – 767

The current Barcelona manager is also one of the club’s legends. A midfielder who forged a dominant partnership alongside Andres Iniesta, Xavi made 767 appearances for the side before joining Al-Sadd SC in Qatar. He then returned to the club as manager and is on the verge of leading the club to the La Liga title.

Sergio Busquets – 719*

Barcelona’s midfield will lose an anchor when Busquets finally leaves. The former Spanish international has yet to decide where he will play next season, but has been linked with a move to the Major League Soccer (MLS) in America. In all that time, Busquets has only picked up one straight red card. He looks destined to end his career at the club with a trophy, as Barcelona are on the verge of winning La Liga.

Andres Iniesta – 674

Another stalwart of Barcelona’s midfield, Iniesta notched up 674 appearances for the team. The current Vissel Kobe player was also never sent off for the Catalan side. Iniesta has been linked with a move back to the Spanish side once he retires from the sport.

Gerard Pique – 616

Like Busquets, Pique also ended his term with Barcelona during the 2022/23 season. Pique will go down as one of the greatest defenders in the club’s history. After leaving the club, Pique started his seven-a-side league known as the King’s League. He is now looking to start a women's tournament called the Queen's League.

All statistics about the players have been sourced from Transfermarkt.

Longest-serving players in Europe

Loyalty used to be a thing in football, but these days it is rare to find among footballers, with lucrative offers, exposure, and other factors influencing player movements.

Francesco Totti, Ryan Giggs, Paolo Maldini, and Carles Puyol are some past footballers who played for their boyhood clubs throughout their storied careers.

Sports Brief looks at eight footballers who have stayed the longest at their current clubs, including Sergio Busquets and Karim Benzema.

Authors
Byron Pillay photo
Byron Pillay
Byron Pillay is a sports writer and Head of the Department at Sports Brief (joined in 2022) with over 10 years of experience in community journalism and a degree in journalism from Caxton's Cadet School.
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