Busquets made Ferdinand 'feel like a conference player' in Champions League final

Ferdinand went head-to-head with Busquets in Man United's 3-1 Champions League final defeat to the Catalan giants in 2011.

And in a Barcelona display which Red Devils boss Sir Alex Ferguson called 'perfection', Ferdinand admitted he received some light-hearted banter from the now-34-year-old.

"We were here at Wembley in the final and we actually got abused that game by Barcelona, they were brilliant," he said.

"Your confidence is low anyway, you are trying to get the ball back off him.

"He turned and said to me "Ferdinand, Vidic, boom boom boom" [referring to the two centre-backs playing long balls all the time], honestly I felt like a conference player."

Busquets will leave Barcelona when his contract expires this summer, the club announced on Wednesday.

The midfielder departs the Camp Nou having secured 31 trophies, including eight LaLiga titles and three Champions Leagues.

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He did have an offer to extend his stay in Catalonia, with Barca coach Xavi Hernandez keen to keep hold of the club captain.

Following 18 years at Barca, Busquets, who has made 719 appearances to date, will now go onto new ventures, having been linked with a move to Saudi Arabia and Inter Miami.

Former Barcelona teammate Lionel Messi, now at Paris Saint-Germain, has also been linked with the same moves, with a potential link-up on the cards.

Though Messi's father, Jorge, has since denied that any decision will be made until the end of the season.