Legendary Barcelona star returns to club after Inter Miami stint

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FT Desk

Barcelona's two greatest head coaches in their history just happened to be two of their greatest players of all time, too.

Johan Cruyff and Pep Guardiola took the Blaugrana to domestic dominance and European glory during their respective tenures and the latter was managed by the former when the club won its first-ever European Cup in 1992.

Barcelona's 'More Than a Club' philosophy extends beyond the success on the pitch as the club prides itself on being the best of the best when it comes to playing style and especially youth coaching, with the La Masia youth facility generally considered to be the best academy in the world.

Another player with aspirations of following in the footsteps of Guardiola by playing in La Masia, then for the senior side and then returning as a coach is Sergio Busquets, who has joined the staff of Juliano Belletti's Barcelona B, who play in the fourth tier of Spanish football.

The Spaniard's illustrious career started at Barcelona as he was plucked from the Barcelona B team by head coach Guardiola in 2008 to act as the metronome anchor midfielder for one of the greatest club sides in history. During his time with the Blaugrana, he won nine La Liga titles, three Champions League titles and seven Copa del Rey trophies, among other accolades.

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For the Spanish national side, he won the 2010 World Cup and the 2012 European Championships.

In June of 2023, he left Catalunya for Inter Miami to hook up with friend Lionel Messi and the pair helped the club win the Leagues Cup in 2023 the Supporters' Shield in 2024 and the MLS Eastern Conference and MLS Cup in 2025.

Thereafter, he called a day on his impressive career.

Not long after announcing his retirement, he outlined a desire to get into coaching.

"I think in the future, yes [I'd want to be a coach], but for now I'd rather take a sabbatical," he told reporters.

"It's a long time, with hardly any weekends. Like any footballer, obviously, playing for the national team and everything gives you another plus, but you also have less time.

"You want to enjoy time with your family, time for me, for them, seeing my children, being with them, traveling more, watching football from a different perspective. And then, in the future, we'll see.

"In theory, yes, but let's focus on the present, as there's still a long way to go."

Barcelona B were in the second division of Spanish football as recently as 2018, but have since dropped two levels into the Segunda Federacion.