Happiness is greater when shared with friends: Lionel Messi and Sergio Busquets have set a great record that rewards unity.
According to the International Federation of Football History & Statistics (IFFHS), this iconic duo, who made history in the dressing rooms of Barcelona and Inter Miami, has played together in more matches than any other pair in history.
Messi and Busquets, the most experienced duo
Lionel’s greatest partner throughout his career has been the Spanish midfielder, with whom he shared 653 official matches.
This figure is spread over their memorable time at Barça, where they shared 13 consecutive seasons and took to the field in 569 matches between 2008 and 2021.
After some time apart, their careers reunited between 2023 and 2025 at Inter Miami in the MLS in the United States, where they played together on 84 occasions.
Only four pairs have played more than 600 games together in the history of soccer. In second place is Busquets again, but accompanied by Gerard Piqué, with whom he shared 620 games (87 with Spain and 533 with Barcelona). Gerd Müller and Sepp Maier shared 611 games, as did Thomas Müller and Manuel Neuer.
Throughout their years as teammates, they have won a total of 33 official titles, including eight LaLiga titles, three Champions League titles, and three Club World Cups with the Catalan club. In the US, playing for Inter Miami, they won the Leagues Cup in 2023, the MLS Supporters’ Shield in 2024, and the MLS Cup in December last year.
However, the number of games between Busquets and Messi came to an end when Sergio announced his retirement after winning the 2025 MLS Cup on December 6, while the ’10’ will continue to play for Inter Miami until 2028.
Now, as they prepare for the 2026 season, Leo and Inter Miami know that there will be some changes from 2025: they will have to defend their titles, but they will also inaugurate their new stadium, and they will no longer have big names such as Jordi Alba or Busquets.
Inter Miami will open its season on February 21, when it will face Los Angeles FC away at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.
Then, on February 26, it will play a friendly match against Independiente del Valle, which had to be rescheduled due to Messi’s injury after he suffered a muscle strain in his left hamstring.
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