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Barcelona legend facing his very own Luis Suárez-like situation

By Chiranjib Ghosh

BARCELONA, SPAIN - AUGUST 25: Sergio Busquets of FC Barcelona reacts during the Liga match between FC Barcelona and Real Betis Balompie at Camp Nou on August 25, 2019 in Barcelona, Spain. (Photo by Quality Sport Images/Getty Images)
BARCELONA, SPAIN - AUGUST 25: Sergio Busquets of FC Barcelona reacts during the Liga match between FC Barcelona and Real Betis Balompie at Camp Nou on August 25, 2019 in Barcelona, Spain. (Photo by Quality Sport Images/Getty Images) /
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Barcelona star Sergio Busquets is staring at the end of the barrel

Sergio Busquets has been declining for a long time, since Luis Enrique’s final season at Barcelona. Everyone at the club has been in denial, and Ernesto Valverde has not bucked the trend. But reality is starting to bite, especially after the undeserved draw against Borussia Dortmund.

Busquets was horrendous against Dortmund, and was eventually taken off by Valverde. He gave the ball away, and easily buckled under pressure. His much younger partners in midfield were calmer than him in pressure situations, especially Arthur.

In recent times, opposition sides have figured out a way to deal with the 31-year old defensive midfielder. They do not allow Busquets any space to manoeuvre in the middle of the park, pressing him from all sides and forcing him to make poor passes.

When he has time and space, Busquets is one of the greatest holding midfielders of all-time. When he is being closed down, the La Masia graduate is an ageing star in the twilight of his career. Barça need to realise this before one of his blunders cost an important game.

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After having the most success under Pep Guardiola and Luis Enrique, Sergio Busquets is too accustomed to the traditional approach from opposition teams to successfully adapt to the new fast-paced style of football that is emerging now.

It is abundantly clear that Busquets is past his best, and has fallen from his perch at the top of tiers of European football. While he remains an important player in the squad due to his seniority, Busquets should not have a first-team spot automatically.

Busquets is facing the situation that Luis Suárez was facing a couple of years ago. The 32-year old Uruguayan centre-forward was performing exceptionally poorly, and had become completely dependent on Lionel Messi for finding the back of the net.

Now, the Spain international should be fighting for minutes, like most of his teammates. Busquets should focus his attention on mentoring Frenkie de Jong, who has been brought in from Ajax for €75 million exclusively to succeed the lanky Spaniard.

De Jong was shifted to a more defensive role in the second-half against Dortmund, and was amazing there. He was much more expressive than Busquets, and was unafraid to get stuck in. Despite making a couple of mistakes, the Dutch youngster showed huge potential.

Next. Barça are not using Frenkie de Jong properly. dark

Valverde can set the wheels rolling for this important transition by using De Jong as a defensive midfielder in the first-team against Granada in the next league fixture.