Barcelona captain will respond to renewal offer immediately, will not wait for Messi decision

It has been almost a month since Barcelona sent their contract offer to captain Sergio Busquets, whose current one expires at the end of the season. However, the Blaugrana are yet to receive a response from their club captain.

It led to speculation that Busquets’ decision is tied to the situation surrounding Lionel Messi and his potential return to Barça in the summer. Hence, it was claimed that the veteran midfielder might take more time before taking a call on his next move.

However, according to Mundo Deportivo’s Gabriel Sans, Busquets is aware that he cannot wait until the Messi situation becomes clear and thus plans to respond to Barcelona’s offer as immediately as possible.

Given that the 34-year-old remains one of the most important cogs in Xavi’s Barça team, if he decides to leave the club will need time to prepare for his departure and seek a replacement.

Busquets is understood to have earmarked mid-April as the deadline to give his answer to the Catalan heavyweights. So, it could be that the midfielder announces whether he wishes to continue at Barcelona or not as early as next week.

One of the greatest players to have played for Barcelona, Busquets has been offered a new one-year contract by the club. It comes with a significant pay cut, however, as his salary would drop to €7 million per year, less than a third of what he currently earns.

In the meantime, Busquets also has offers from the MLS and Saudi Arabia, which are much more lucrative financially. However, money is unlikely to play a factor in his final decision and it would depend on the sporting project and his family.

Messi’s potential return would likely have convinced Busquets to remain at Barcelona for one more year, given how close they are. However, there are still a lot of issues to be resolved, a lot of hurdles to be crossed before the Argentine’s comeback can be considered a realistic possibility.

And, Busquets is thus unlikely to wait until that picture clears to make a decision on his future. The plan is to respond to Barcelona’s offer as soon as possible.