Sergio Busquets returns to Barcelona as assistant coach for the reserve team

Some homecomings feel like closing a circle. Sergio Busquets' is one of them. The club announced on Monday that the legendary midfielder is coming home, though this time he won't be stepping onto the Spotify Camp Nou turf. Instead, he'll take a seat on the reserve team's bench. Busquets joins Juliano Belletti's staff as an assistant coach at Barcelona Atletic, the club's B team.

To understand what this hire really means, you have to go back to 2023, when Busquets decided to close out a 15-year run in Barcelona's midfield to try his luck in MLS with Inter Miami. There, he shared a locker room once again with Leo Messi and company, and he closed out his playing career in the best way possible: lifting the MLS Cup in late 2025. Now, without his boots on, he decided the next step was to go back and teach what he'd learned over so many years, first at La Masia and then with the first team.

And when it comes to numbers, Busquets knows plenty about them. Born in Badia del Valles, he played 722 matches in the Barcelona shirt, a tally that places him among the most capped players in club history. Along the way he collected 32 trophies: 9 La Liga titles, 7 Copa del Rey trophies, 7 Spanish Super Cups, 3 Champions Leagues, 3 European Super Cups and 3 Club World Cups. Few trophy cabinets in world soccer can match that haul.

His resume doesn't stop there. With the Spain national team he made 143 appearances and was a key piece in two of Spanish soccer's greatest triumphs: the 2010 World Cup and Euro 2012. That background, having won practically everything there is to win, is exactly what the club hopes he'll now pass on to the reserve team's young players.

A role built for the academy

Barcelona itself explained the thinking behind the move in a statement that makes clear the intent behind the hire.

His experience, his knowledge and his understanding of the game now become part of Juliano Belletti's coaching staff, with the goal of contributing to the growth and development of the young players at Barcelona Atletic.Barcelona

Working alongside Belletti, another club legend with his own history in the first team, gives this new reserve team staff an interesting blend of experience and homegrown knowledge. For the young players at Barcelona Atletic, having someone who played 722 matches for the first team walking them through the finer points of positioning or reading the game is no small thing.

Is this the first step for Busquets toward one day coaching the first team? It's too early to say, but the club is opening the door for him to start building his coaching career, and there's no better place to do it than the same club where he developed as a player.