Sergio Busquets will become the last member of Barcelona’s 2011 Champions League-winning squad to leave the club this summer, after announcing his decision to leave the Camp Nou on Wednesday.
Described by Sir Alex Ferguson as “the best I’ve faced” the team included Lionel Messi, Xavi and Andres Iniesta, and was managed by current Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola.
Following that 3-1 triumph over Manchester United at Wembley on May 28, Guardiola has yet to taste European success since, despite having managed both Bayern Munich and City.
Twelve years later, those who made up that brilliant 2011 squad have had varied journeys, with some going for World Cup glory and others turning to management…
Goalkeeper – Victor Valdes
Valdes left Barcelona in 2014 after 12 years at Camp Nou, winning six league titles, the Champions League three times and the Spanish Cup twice.
He joined Manchester United, but fell out with then manager Louis van Gaal. After a loan spell at Belgian club Standard Liege, he joined Middlesbrough before retiring in 2018.
A managerial move followed for the 41-year-old, with time in charge of Barca’s U19 side and a season in Spain’s lower league UA Horta, which ended in 2021. .
Left-back – Eric Abidal
Frenchman Abidal recovered remarkably from a liver tumor in 2011 to start in the Champions League final and, sadly, had to undergo a liver transplant in 2012 due to complications.
On December 18, 2012, he returned to training, making his first senior start since surgery on April 6.
In 2013, Abidal returned to former club Monaco and then again to Olympiacos in 2014 before retiring.
The 43-year-old returned to Barcelona in June 2018 as director of football but was fired in August 2020.
Centre-back – Javier Mascherano
Former Liverpool and West Ham midfielder turned defender Mascherano, now 38, was named Argentina Under-20 manager in December 2021 and remains in the role today.
The Argentine left the Nou Camp after an eight-year stint and was another to achieve the treble twice.
Mascherano joined Hebei China Fortune from Barcelona in 2018 and returned to his native country to play for Estudiantes, before retiring in 2020.
Centre-back – Gerard Pique
Pique’s commitment to Barcelona is similar to that of Busquets, with the centre-back spending 11 more years at the club after the 2011 Champions League final and retiring in November 2022.
The defender also helped Spain win the 2010 World Cup and the 2012 European Championship, and Barcelona won more La Liga titles in 2015, 2016, 2018 and 2019.
A third member of the 2011 squad to achieve the treble twice, since retiring the 36-year-old has explored multiple business interests, including creating a new concept of football, the ‘Kings League’ .
Right-back – Dani Alves
Alves, 40, originally left Barcelona in 2016 but returned for the 2021-22 season. He joined Mexican club UNAM in 2022 but his contract was terminated after he was arrested for an alleged sexual assault in January 2023. Alves denies any wrongdoing.
As a footballer, he was one of seven players to win the domestic league, domestic cup and European cup treble twice, with a few others on this list, following Barcelona’s success in Champions League 2015.
He played for Juventus, Paris St-Germain and Sao Paulo between his spells at Barca.
Midfielder – Sergio Busquets
The departure of midfielder Busquets comes after 18 years at the club, having come through the youth ranks.
His time was littered with success for club and country, with Busquets also winning the domestic league, domestic cup and European Cup treble twice in 718 appearances.
After the 2011 Champions League final, the Spanish World Cup winner, 34, won 18 other major accolades for the club.
Midfielder – Xavi
Busquets remarkably remained at Barcelona during the same period it took fellow midfielder Xavi to finish his own career, retiring and becoming a manager at Camp Nou.
Xavi, now 43, was a crucial figure for the Catalans before his move to Qatari side Al Sadd in Qatar in 2015.
After four years as a player, the Spaniard became club manager – winning the Qatar Stars League in 2021 – then replaced Ronald Koeman at Camp Nou in November 2021.
Midfielder – Andres Iniesta
The third member of this magical midfield trio turns 39 on Thursday and is still plying his trade in Japan for Vissel Kobe.
Iniesta stayed at Barcelona for seven years after the 2011 Champions League final and eventually left for Asia in 2018 after enjoying numerous other successes in Catalonia.
Since then he has made 133 appearances for the Japanese club and won the Emperor’s Cup with them in 2019.
Striker – Lionel Messi
Messi, 35, finally won the World Cup with Argentina in December 2022 – arguably his biggest achievement since his time at Barcelona.
Another member of the squad that won the treble twice for the Catalans, Messi moved to Paris St-Germain in the summer of 2021 after a tearful exit amid the Catalan club’s financial struggles.
He is ready to leave PSG at the end of the season and the seven-time Ballon d’Or winner has been linked with a move to Major League Soccer’s Inter Miami and Saudi side Al Hilal. Barca – where he spent 21 years – are also keen to bring him back.
Striker – David Villa
Villa currently works as a technical advisor and head of global football operations for Indian club Odisha FC and owner of USL Championship side Queensboro FC, which will begin play in New York in 2023.
It’s quite a change of pace for a deadly striker, now 41, who won eight trophies during his time at Barcelona.
Villa left Camp Nou in 2013 for Atletico Madrid, and also played for New York, Melbourne City and Vissel Kobe before retiring in 2020.
Striker – Pedro
Now 35 and at Serie A side Lazio, Pedro moved from Barcelona to Chelsea in 2015, spending five years there before moving to Roma in 2020.
Another two-time Catalans treble winner, Pedro won the Premier League with Chelsea in 2017 and Euro 2012 with Spain after the 2011 Champions League final.
Substitutes
Some notable names were also on Barca’s bench that day at Wembley.
Thiago Alcantara, who had just broken through, now operates at Liverpool and the 32-year-old has established himself as one of Bayern Munich’s top professionals following his time at Camp Nou.
Attackers bojan And Ibrahim Affelay also played for Stoke City in the Premier League, while the club’s former captain Charles Puyol retired in 2014 after spending his entire 19-year career at the club.
