Girona drew 0-0 with Barcelona on Monday night, achieving an impressive point and clean sheet away from home. It was just a winner short of a perfect night for manager Michel Sanchez, but he did get some consolation in the form of Barcelona shirt that he had wanted for a long time.
After the match, DAZN interviewed the Girona boss about the match, which he attended holding a shirt. He was asked to whom it belonged, the response being Sergio Busquets.
“Well, he’s a player, I’ve already said so, that makes everyone else around him better. As a manager you like to see that, I told him that I wanted it, and the truth is it’s a shirt I have wanted for a long time.”
“I’m grateful to him, he is one of the players that I appreciate most in the world of football and for everything he’s given to Spanish football too.”
It could well be the final season at Barcelona for their captain. Busquets, 34, is out of contract in the summer and there is little clarity on whether he will renew, despite manager Xavi Hernandez’s encouragement to do so.
It is not hard to imagine Michel identifying with Busquets and his style of play. Michel was a technical midfielder himself, like Busquets, and he may just have gotten that shirt just in time, with a point to take back to Girona too.