Busquets is best defensive midfielder in the world - Riquelme

Juan Roman Riquelme is quite clearly a man who knows his football.

If watching the lucid Argentine play the game wasn’t enough to realise that, his recent comments ahead of the Club World Cup have cleared up any doubts. 

The 37-year-old, who spent one season in Barcelona’s first team at the beginning of the millennium, has lavished praise on midfielder Sergio Busquets. 

While the front three of Lionel Messi, Neymar and Luis Suarez - quite rightly - receive regular praise, Riquelme has selected another trio of Barça players to single out. 

Among them he included Buquets - “the best defensive midielder in the world.” 

Busquets was controversially left out of several player of the year lists recently, which caused ripples of surprise around the Catalan club. 

“Barcelona have the three best players in the world in their position,” Riquelme told Tyc Sports. 

“Gerard Pique in the middle of defence, Busquets as a defensive midfielder and [Andres] Iniesta as a central midfielder.”