Barcelona welcome Sevilla to Camp Nou on Sunday evening after the international break, with the Catalans hoping to leapfrog the Andalusians into second spot.
Given the break in games, several figures from Barcelona took advantage of their time off to give interviews. That dictated some of the pre-match questions to manager Xavi Hernandez in his press conference.
One of those interviews heard Sergio Busquets explain the precise nature of his position at Barcelona and his manager was asked if he preferred to have specialists or all-rounders in his side. Mundo Deportivo carried his response.
“Busquets has an exact position and it isn’t necessary for him to be versatile. Saying that, if there are players who are more versatile who can help us, like [Ronald] Araujo, who can play at centre-back or full-back, or [Sergino] Dest, who can play on both sides, They are all important. It depends on the needs of the team.”
Busquets had also spoken about his future, saying he was happy to stay as long as the club wanted him, but wasn’t going to cause any issues for club either. It appears Xavi is counting on him being there for a while.
“I think Busquets can go for longer. With this style of play which is very similar to that of the national team, he can play for a long time and we can get a lot out of him.”
“Frenkie and Nico can play there, although I think of them more as interiors. For the way we want to play, Busquets is fundamental. The day he is no longer here, we will have to come up with a plan, but that isn’t the case.”
Despite receiving criticism from Barcelona fans earlier in the season, including a social media campaign asking for him to be benched, the World Cup-winner has remained an integral piece in Xavi’s this puzzle.
Xavi also stressed the need for Barcelona to renew youngsters Ronald Araujo and Gavi.
