Xavi Hernandez identifies 16-year-old as Barcelona’s long-term Sergio Busquets successor

It was a sad day for Barcelona when Sergio Busquets departed the club last summer after 15 years in the first team. Throughout that period, he was ever-present as the pivot in a midfield three, and there’s no doubt that his absence has been felt, with his “replacement” Oriol Romeu massively struggling.

It has meant that Andreas Christensen has often played in midfield, although Barcelona are close to rectifying the situation by signing Guido Rodriguez. On top of this, another top-level defensive midfielder could also arrive in the summer.

In terms of La Masia pivots, the most promising is Marc Bernal. Xavi values the 16-year-old, who has been present in first team training at different stages throughout the season, and according to MD, he is considered to be Barcelona’s “pivot of the future”, and hold the position for many years, similarly to Busquets.