Sergio Busquets as important as Lionel Messi for Barcelona, announces Casemiro

Real Madrid’s Casemiro has spoken highly of his rival Sergio Busquets of Barcelona with the Brazilian declaring that the Spanish international is as important as Lionel Messi for Barcelona. The Real Madrid star further added that Busquets doesn’t always get the credit he deserves and that needs to change. The 31-year-old Barcelona star is often seen guarding the backline which allows the club's star-studded frontline and the midfield duo to flourish.

He’s an extremely skilled technical player knowing when to change the point of attack and deals with the opponent press beautifully. Busquets often breaks the opposition attack and starts the attack for Barcelona. His efforts have been evident as Barcelona have only managed to win once when El Pulpo hasn’t been in the starting line up. The Catalans have gone onto win 10 games when Busquets has started.

“To talk about Busquets I have to say that in recent years he has been a reference for many people. His profile and that of Xabi Alonso are very similar. They are two great players especially with the ball. We talk about Messi, Suarez or before that Neymar, but Busquets is for me the most important. We talked about Iniesta, Xavi, but he was always there with the darkest job and is one of the best defensive midfielders,” said Casemiro to Revista Libero. 

"Compared to me he is different. He may not have the physical display like mine but he is always positioned very well, is always well placed and that is very important. For me, next to Messi he is the most important Barcelona player in recent years," added the Brazilian.