Barcelona defensive midfielder Sergio Busquets will leave the club at the end of this season after spending 18 years with the Catalan outfit, the team said on Wednesday.

Busquets, 34, began his youth career at Barcelona in 2005 before making his first-team debut in 2008.

The former Spain international served as the club captain for the last two seasons, having become an integral part of the team over the years.

He helped Barcelona win eight La Liga titles, seven Copa del Rey titles, three Champions League trophies and three Club World Cups.

"It has been an honour and a source of pride to have been able to wear this badge but everything must come to an end," Busquets said on Instagram on Wednesday.

Busquets, who retired from international duty last year, has made more than 700 appearances for Barcelona and holds the record for playing in more El Clasicos than any other player with 48 appearances against Barcelona's rivals Real Madrid.

He could add another league title to his achievements this season, with Barcelona leading the points table by 13 points with five games remaining.

Jose under no pressure

S Roma coach Jose Mourinho lightheartedly brushed off persistent speculation around taking a managerial role at Paris Saint-Germain, as his team prepares for the first leg of the Europa League semi-final against Bayer Leverkusen at home on Thursday.

Despite talk of potentially take over the Ligue 1 club from Christophe Galtier in the 2023-24 season, Mourinho reaffirmed his loyalty to Roma, where he is currently under contract until 2024.

Roma are set to confront a formidable challenge as they go head-to-head against Xabi Alonso’s squad on Thursday. Notably, Alonso played a pivotal role in Mourinho’s success during their tenure at Real Madrid from 2010 to 2013.

Despite Roma reaching the semi-finals of a prominent European competition for the third consecutive season, Mourinho dismisses the notion that it puts pressure on the team.

“We have enough experience not to be too excited for being in the semi-finals and not to be too fixated on the fact that it is played at home,” he said.