Should Barcelona Stick or Twist with Sergio Busquets?

There are not many arguments for selling Sergio Busquets.

Barcelona would get good money for the defensive midfielder. That’s one of them.

A second reason would be if he wanted to leave.

Busquets recently told ESPN, per Sport, that only two people could convince him to leave the club: his partner and new Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola:

"

There are only two people that could make change my decision to be here. One is my partner, and as of today she is here and she is Barca, so I don’t think we have a problem on a personal level! ... On a sporting level, the other person would be Guardiola. It’s clear I owe him a lot and for me to work with him would be an honour.

"

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It was a clear nod at Barcelona to hurry up and give him the new contract he has been waiting for.

One reason to twist would be if Barcelona believed youngster Sergi Samper was going to emulate the Sabadell-born midfielder.

Samper made his La Liga debut against Getafe, coming off the bench for Sergi Roberto, who had played in Busquets’ position.

The 21-year-old was as calm and collected as when he made his first Barcelona start, which happened in the Champions League under Luis Enrique last season.

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He definitely has a lot of potential, and Busquets is technically blocking his way, because Samper’s best role is the one Busquets has made his own in this Barcelona side.

However, everything else indicates that Barcelona need to stick with Busquets, squeezing everything they can out of him until he decides to walk away from top-level football.

There is no better defensive midfielder in the world. And depending on who you talk to, there is perhaps no better midfielder full stop.

"[Busquets] is a unique player, the most comprehensive out there and, for me, the best midfielder in the world. He's essential for us," said Barcelona manager, Luis Enrique, per Sports Mole.

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That came after a commanding performance against Getafe in October, coincidentally, with Lucho deciding to rest him for the return game this time around.

But Busquets is not a glamourous player. He was snubbed from the FIFPro World XI and ignored when it came to the 23-man Ballon d'Or shortlist.

He is particularly good across a number of areas in midfield. He excels at winning the ball back and intercepting opposition passes, and he is becoming increasingly potent when Barcelona are going forward.

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It’s not rare to see Busquets play the pass that breaks Barcelona through the lines, whether it’s with a cute chip to one of the full-backs going forward to cross or with a through ball that he slides in for Neymar as he dashes toward the goal.

What’s more, aside from a player like Samper, who still has a long way to go to become a viable long-term replacement for Busquets, there are no obvious replacements at the position.

Javier Mascherano was widely acknowledged as one of the best defensive midfielders in the world before he joined the club, but he has been unable to dislodge Busquets.

Now, the Argentinian admits that there's a huge difference between when he plays and when Busquets plays—and it isn’t positive for Mascherano.

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"I don’t have a problem admitting if someone is better than me," Mascherano told TV3, per Sport.

"Sergio’s the best midfielder in the world, he has an innate talent. He doesn’t just defend, he builds. I’ve never built in my life. I can only build a little house when I play with my daughter."

For these reasons, not only must Barcelona stick with Busquets, but they must stick hard. He enables the magic ahead of him, and the club cannot allow him to get away and spend the next few years anywhere other than Camp Nou.