FC Barcelona’s legendary midfield trio of Andres Iniesta, Xavi Hernandez and Sergio Busquets could play together for the club one last time this summer, fans have suggested.
The Blaugrana are currently closing on on their first La Liga title in four years and a maiden Spanish top flight crown under Xavi as head coach.
They can seal the title away at Espanyol by beating their crosstown rivals on Sunday evening, or by coming out on top against Real Sociedad at home next Saturday.
Given Barca’s comfortable 13-point lead at the summit over Atletico Madrid, it is a case of ‘when’ not ‘if’ the national championship trophy comes to Camp Nou.
After their final game of the season away at Celta Vigo on June 3, though, the Catalans will immediately head to Japan for a friendly against Vissel Kobe three days later.
This is of course the team that ‘Don’ Iniesta joined from Barca when leaving the club in tears in 2018. According to Relevo, the meeting with his former employers of 22 years will also be the last he stars in for the J-League outfit prior to heading to the MLS or Saudi Arabia.
Captain Sergio Busquets is in a similar position after announcing his departure at the end of the season earlier this week. He is likewise expected to potentially join Lionel Messi in the Middle East according to El Chiringuito – who reported he and the Argentine have accepted an offer from Al-Hilal – or venture across the Atlantic to Inter Miami.
The Vissel Kobe clash will reportedly bring in a much-needed €3 million ($3.25 million) in times of financial hardship for Barca.
From a sporting perspective, however, some fans online – as seen in the comments section of this Twitter post – have suggested and demanded that Barca should reform their legendary midfield trio of Iniesta, Busquets and Xavi one last time for old time’s sake.
Together, the three men won everything on offer for both club and country with their endless trophy haul taking in three Champions League titles plus the World Cup and Euros in Spain’s colors.
Though Xavi retired in 2019 after leaving Barca for Al-Sadd shortly following a 2015 treble win, he appears in good enough shape to run out for at least 45 minutes in the Far East.
As seen in many testimonials and exhibitions, Iniesta could perhaps play a half for his current club and a half for that which he is most commonly associated; surely Japanese punters would value this far more highly than just a standard Barca versus Vissel Kobe friendly too.
The potential development is unlikely to become a reality, but one can dream.
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/tomsanderson/2023/05/13/xavi-iniesta-and-busquets-could-reform-legendary-fc-barcelona-trio-one-last-time-this-summer/