Busquets, Alba talk after final home appearance for Barcelona: “Honour, proud”

Barcelona hosted Mallorca today at the Camp Nou in what was a rather teary affair. Not only was it the last game at the legendary venue for Barça until November 2024, but it was also Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba’s final games at home.

Both of them are leaving Barcelona at the end of the season, and were applauded off the pitch by the home support. They also received souveniers from the club, and were asked to address the countless fans in blaugrana.

Alba started his address by thanking the fans, saying, “Good evening, first of all I would like to thank all the fans for all the love in my career.”

“Today I also have to remember many people who played a very important role in my career and it was a great honour to share the pitch with them,” he continued.

“Thanks to my teammates, this year maybe I didn’t play a lot, but the most important thing is always to try to help, of course I feel very proud of helping my teammates.”

The Spaniard also mentioned the legendary Tito Vilanova, who signed him from Valencia in 2012. Tito led the team to a historic 100-point La Liga win, but unfortunately passed away from cancer in 2013.

“I’d like to pay tribute to Tito Vilanova, who signed me in 2012… We will always remember you,” Alba said tearily.

He continued his tributes, this time for Sergio Busquets, who has been alongside Alba for more than a decade.

“I want to talk about an important and beloved person, Busquets. It was a great honour to play alongside him. I wish him all the best.”

Alba exclaimed with passion, “Now I will follow the team from another place. Always proud to be a Barcelona player. Visca Barça! Visca Catalunya!”, before passing the mic to Busquets.

“Good evening, first of all I want to thank all the players, the current players and those who have been with me these last few years, I thank them all,” Busi started.

“I thank the coaching staff, the employees, everyone at the club and everyone who helped me during this period, and I also thank the fans. They played a very important role in what we achieved. It is a great honour to be in the team.”

A Barcelona fan at heart since childhood, Busquets lived his dream – and some – and now retires with the armband on his sleeve.

“I dreamt when I was young to play a match in this stadium, this dream came true and I played several matches here, the best stadium in the world. I will never forget this.”

“I came here as a fan when I was a child, and now I’m very proud to be part of the best club in the world,” Busi added.

Busquets has been touted to become a coach in the near future, and left a hint at the end of his speech, saying, “Now I’m leaving this team, but the dream I had has come true… This is not a definitive goodbye, it’s a see you later. Visça Barça! Visça Catalunya!”

Source: BarçaTV+